The Inevitable
by LittleToy23
Summary: A boy. A girl. Best friends. Jealousy. Regret. Love. Passion. The Inevitable. They have always been best friends, but will a misfortune lead them to more? Naley with sides of Brucas
1. Chapter 1

**The Inevitable**

**Author's Note: Hey guys, so I'm kind of nervous to post this story because its my first fanfic ever and also because I've worked really hard on it. I've read alot of stories but never had the courage to actually post one of mines until my friend Cassie conviced me to do so. It is a Nathan/Haley fic. This story is completely AU so forget everything that happened on the show. The only thing you really need to know is that Nathan and Haley are best friends and that Lucas and Nathan were raised together since they are both Deb and Dan's sons. So here it is, please review it, tell me what you like and what you don't like but please be kind. Enjoy**

Friendships

He was one of the famous Scotts. His father, Dan, was a successful businessman and the whole Scott family was well known in Tree Hill for their wealth. His mother, Deb, was a sweet and gentle woman. She owned a Café with her sister-in-law Karen Roe who was married to Keith, Dan's brother. He had an older brother, Lucas and they were both very appreciated by all the girls. They were the stars of The Ravens, the school's basket-ball team. Lucas was dating Brooke Davis the captain of the cheer squad. Nathan, well he was with Peyton, one of the cheerleaders and Brooke's best friend, but when she found out he was hooking up with Rachel Gatina another cheerleader, she broke up with him. And now she was with Jake Jagelski. Lucas was loyal and mature, but Nathan, he was something else. He was a player. He knew every girl would give anything to be with him and he took advantage of that. He had had one girlfriend and it was Peyton, but he cheated on her pretty much all the time. He didn't treat girls right but for some reason, they would get trapped in his beautiful blue eyes and his charming smile and fall for him even though they knew he'd break their heart in the end. Then there was Haley James, his best friend, his confident, his little sister. He knew Haley since they were 5. Deb used to baby sit her when he parents were gone on trips, so she and Nathan became really good friends. But it was never more than that, which most of the people thought it was. Haley was the only person he could actually have a decent conversation with and who wasn't afraid to tell him what she really thought about him. He loved her for that.

This week, Lucas and Nathan had the Scott house to themselves since their parents were in Costa Rica for "a much needed vacation" as Deb said it. So Nathan had planed on having a big party at the house

He climbed off her while catching his breathe "So are you going to be here for the party tonight"

"Hell yeah I'll be here, I get to have free drinks all night." She said as she fixed her shirt

"Ha, I should have thought about that one." Nathan said shaking his head

"Anyways I have to go, see you tonight" She said as she gave him a kiss on the cheek

"See you later, Rachel" Nathan said heading to the bathroom to start his shower

When he came out of the shower, he had only a towel displayed loosely on his waist. He felt to hands on his eyes.

"God Haley, what's wrong with you! You know there are these things you could knock on to let someone know your coming in, I don't know, maybe you've heard of them, their called doors" He said sarcastically, throwing himself on his bed.

"I knocked, but you were in the shower so I came in" Haley said plopping next to him on the bed

"Yeah, well you scared me to hell" He said looking at her when he heard her laugh

"Ok, ok mister. So you ready for the big party?" She said turning her head to look at him

"Yep, you're coming right?" He said passing his hand through his wet hair

"I'll be there as always even though I have to see you make out with all the girls" She said

"I know you want me James" He said playfully. She slapped his arm at that

"In your dreams my love" She said joining his laughter

"So how are you doing" Nathan asked more seriously.

Haley dated Chris Keller for a year but he broke up with her because he cheated on her. She was so hurt. She didn't come to school for a week and didn't answer her phone, not even when it was Nathan. This week, she came back to school but people could see she wasn't the Haley they knew before. She wasn't smiling anymore. Nathan had come to see her and comfort her during the week she missed school and if it wasn't for him, she wouldn't be back to school. He really helped her get through it and she could never thank him enough for it.

"Okay I guess…" She said. He saw her smile fading at the thought of everything that happened. He knew he shouldn't have brought up the subject, but he had to know, he had to know she was okay

"Haley, I know it's hard, you don't have to say you're okay, because I know you're still hurting" He said taking her hand in his to bring her closer to him

"I know, but I want to move on. I really want to, but it's so hard to forget everything Nathan" She said feeling tears welling up in her eyes

"Hales, it's normal, you need to give it time, but you'll be able to move on and you'll be happy again. I promise you Haley. Let time heal things." He said holding her close to him and rocking her in his arms.

"What would I do without you mister Big Shot" She said smiling again. He was so happy to see her smile again. Her smile was so powerful and beautiful.

"You would do just fine" He said kissing her cheek

"Ok well I better go get ready for this party of yours if I want to score boys tonight. See you in a bit" She said climbing off the bed and running out the door

He just looked at her and laughed at her sudden action. Haley James was definitely not the typical girl. He said to himself putting a shirt on and heading down stairs to get everything ready for the party

"Hey Nathan!" Brooke said with a big smile coming in lots of bags

"Hey Brooke. Where's Luke" Nathan asked

"Oh he's just getting some stuff in the car! So who are you going to hook up with tonight?" She asked playfully heading in the kitchen with all the grocery bags

"Real funny Brooke! Let me remind you the time when you screwed Jake and Skills in one night" He said smirking at Brooke's face

"Well that was a long time ago and I grew up which you didn't" She said putting her hand firmly on her hip

"Anyways who I see isn't any of your business so don't bother asking" he said sternly

"I think you need a drink Scott" She said giving him a glass

"Thanks. Sorry for being an ass." He said taking a long gulp of his drink

"Don't worry I know how you are plus I'm a bitch to you sometimes so were even" She said shrugging

"Yeah if we put it like that" He said laughing

"So when is Haley coming?" She asked

"Soon I guess. She came by a couple of minutes ago and she said she had to go get ready so she'll probably be here in a half hour" He said sneaking in one of the bags Lucas put on the table

"Great. I have to tell her something." She said showing one of her famous dimpled smiles

"So Nate, who are you going to hook up with tonight?" Lucas said entering the kitchen

"Gees, what is up with everybody asking me this question? Its not like I hook up with every girl" Nathan said raising his hands

"But you do" Lucas said smirking

"Okay okay, we'll stop teasing, but you have to promise to keep an eye on Rachel, you know how she gets all over the place when she drinks" Brooke said more seriously

"Yeah… anyways talking about the devil, I have to go pick her up. See you in a bit" He said as he took his car keys and left the house

Haley was about to her house, when the phone rang. She ran to pick it up before the answering machine started.

"Hello" She said taking her breathe

"Haley, is that you?" A male voice said

"Umm. Yeah who is this?" She couldn't hear the person's voice well because of all the noise in the background

"Chris" He screamed over the loud music

Chris. Why was he calling her?

"What do you want?" She said with cold voice

"I just wanted to see how you were doing, it's been a long time since we've talked and I thought we could go out together sometime." He said. She could hear him much better now

"Are you freaking kidding me? You want to hang out?" She said raising her voice with anger

"Well yeah, I mean we got along pretty well you and me until---" He said innocently

"Until you've cheated on me while we were dating?" She said with an angry voice

"Hales…" He trailed off

"Don't call me that" She said in a hushed voice

"Haley I love you" He said

"You know what Chris, I've waited so long to hear those words come out of your mouth, I dreamt of the day you would come back to me and say them. And now when this moment has finally come, the only thing I feel like doing is never talk to you again." She said with the coldest voice and took a deep breathe before hanging up the phone

She never knew how a wonderful day could turn into an awful day in a 5 minutes conversation. She was so excited to go to the party tonight and sleep over with all her friends, and now all she wanted was to go to her room and sleep. She climbed up the staircase that led her to her room and let herself fall on the bed.

At the Scott house, the music was loud and the people were dancing and having fun. Brooke was dancing with Peyton and all the other girls in the living room while Nathan, Lucas and Jake were drinking in the kitchen.

"Who wants to play I never?" Brooke said entering the kitchen with a silly smile

"Why not… Guys?" Lucas said looking over Jake and Nathan

"Okay" They both agreed

"Yay… P. Sawyer I told you they couldn't resist the Davis smile" She said taking a seat on Lucas's lap

"No one can resist you Brookie" Peyton said laughing

"Hey has anyone seen Haley tonight?" Brooke said with a questioning look

"No, that's weird because I called her just before I came and she said she was almost ready" Peyton said

"I'll go call her" Nathan said getting up from his chair

"Ok we'll play while you go" Brooke said waving him off

"Let's play "I never" yippee" Jake said sarcastically

"Oh Jakey you know you love it" Peyton said with a playful smile

Nathan was outside sitting on the porch so he could call Haley without anyone disturbing him. Since the hole Chris drama, he was more worried about Haley and he felt the need to always protect her from breaking again because when he saw her like that, it hurt him so much he didn't want to ever see her like that again.

"Hales, it's me I don't know where you are but please call me I'm getting worried here." He shut his phone. Took a look inside and decided to go see if she was still at her house

When he got in front of the James house, he saw only a light in the living room; He knew Haley's parents were traveling a lot and that she was often by herself. He walked over the door and knocked. No response. He tried to open the door and to his surprise, the door was unlocked. He came in slowly and climbed the stairs to Haley's room. He opened the door carefully to see a sleeping Haley all dressed up on her bed. He came up next to her and noticed she had been crying.

"Hales" He whispered in her ear "Haley" He said a little louder

She opened her eyes and right away he saw the hurt in her eyes.

"Haley, what happened?" He asked worried. He sat down on the bed next to her and took her in his arms

"He called me" She cried "He said he still loves me" She said with a helpless look

"Shhh… Hales it's ok… calm down" he said whipping her tears off gently with his thumb

"I thought it was over and here he comes again" She said sniffling a sob

"Haley you need to give me his phone number" He said looking at her

She nodded getting up and reaching for the phone where his number was appearing

"I'll take it you won't go to the party huh?" He said with a smile trying to lightened the mood

"I'm sorry Nathan you should go though I'll be fine" She said rubbing her eyes

"Haley, you are not fine, you need someone to take care of you. Plus you are more important than some party" He said getting up to hug her

"I love you so much for being my best friend' she said hugging him back

"I love you too." He said softly

"I think I'll go to sleep if you don't mind" She said sighing in sing of tiredness

"I think it's a good idea, I'll just go call Luke to tell him I'll sleep here" He said

"Okay thank you" She said as she got in her bed

After calling Lucas, he went back to Haley's room to check on her

"You're not sleeping?" He asked her

"I couldn't sleep" She said turning around to face him "Stay with me" She said making space for him next to her

He took off his shoes and lied down next to her. She instinctively lied her head on his chest and he wrapped his arms around her tiny frame. They stayed like that all night.

**So what did you think? Should I continue on with this story? Please review. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hey guys! First of all I want to thank you all for the nice comments! You guys are awesome! So I'm back with a new chapter and I hope you'll like it as much as the first one. I also wanted to clarify a few of your questions: Nathan and Rachel are not dating they are just hooking up; there is no love between the two. Also someone asked me how could Haley let Nathan be just like Chris, by cheating with his girlfriend, well Haley never knew he was cheating on Peyton. If you have any more questions feel free to ask. Here is chapter 2, Enjoy.**

Nathan woke up the next morning, and for a second, he wondered where he was. Then he saw a sleeping Haley next to him and everything from the previous night came back to his mind. He smiled at the sight of his best friend sleeping peacefully next to him and the thought of Chris Keller came to his mind his smile faded. He couldn't imagine how anyone could hurt Haley the way he did, so he got up from Haley's bed slowly, not wanting to wake her and took the piece of paper where she had written down Chris's number. He wrote Haley a little note to tell her to call him when she would wake up and then left the room, and the house to go clarify a few things with Chris.

At the Scott house, Peyton, Jake, Lucas and Brooke were all in the kitchen eating breakfast and talking about the party of the previous night.

"So did you guys talk to Nathan or Haley since yesterday?" Jake asked taking a bite of his peanut butter toast.

"Not me, the last time I saw Nathan, he was leaving to go look for Haley" Brooke said taking a sip from her big mug of coffee.

"I'm starting to get worried about those two, I mean we didn't hear from them since last night." Peyton said looking at Brooke.

"Actually, Nate called me yesterday to tell me he was at Haley's and that he was staying with her for the night because she wasn't feeling well." Lucas said.

"Oh, I hope she's not too sick" Brooke said with concern in her eyes.

"Nate said she was fine" Lucas said to her with a reassuring smile.

Nathan was at the river court. He always went there when he needed to think, or to just get out of all the drama. He was so angry with Chris when he left Haley's house this morning that he would have probably killed him if he didn't calm down. So he went to the river court to breathe in fresh air and calm himself down. He dug his hand in his pocket and took out his cell phone, he took the peace of paper with the number on it and dialed.

"Hello" Nathan was met with a hoarse voice.

"Wake up Keller, we need to talk" Nathan said harshly

"What the hell man, I'm sleeping here can't you see?" Chris said annoyed

Nathan rolled his eyes

"No I can't see since I'm on the phone, and even if I would, I don't give a shit. So get your ass up to the rivercourt in 10 minutes" Nathan said starting to raise his voice, he didn't feel like arguing today especially not with him

"Look man-" Chris started, but he was cut off by a very impatient Nathan

"Look man, if you're not here in 10 minutes, I'll come to you and I don't think you'd like to embarrass your little girlfriend now would you?" Nathan said mocking-kindness

"Alright. Alright" Chris said and hung up the phone

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Haley was sleeping deeply when her phone started to ring

"Hello" Haley said with a sleepy voice

"Haley! Are you feeling better?" Brooke asked concerned

"Brooke, well yea I'm feeling better than yesterday wh-" Haley said but was cut off by an excited Brooke

"Good, cause you are coming with me!" Brooke said excitedly

"Uh Brooke where are we going?" Haley said confused

"Clearly you're still in dreamland, where do you think I'm taking you Tutor girl?" Brooke said sarcastically

"I don't know" Haley said still confused

"We are going shopping. Every girl needs her shopping when she's feeling down and I take it you are feeling down so-"

"Okay, where are you?" Haley asked

"Hum at Lucas's why?" Brooke asked confused at her turn

"Okay I'll meet you there in an hour" Haley said

"Okay see you then" Brooke said and with that they both hung up the phone

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Nathan was shooting hoops when he heard a car coming near. He turned around to see Chris.

"So what do you want?" Chris asked as he took a seat on one of the picnic tables

"I want you to stop calling Haley" Nathan said matter-of-factly

"Why would I do that, were in a free country I believe" Chris said amused to see Nathan getting angry

"Don't mess with me Keller, I'm going to tell you one more time stop talking to Haley okay? She's over you so stop telling her your pitiful apologies." Nathan said abruptly

"She's not worth it anyways" Chris said shrugging

At these words, Nathan punched him hard in the jaw

"Don't ever come back near her or believe me you'll regret it" Nathan promised and then left.

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Haley took a long hot shower and then left her house to go shopping with Brooke. At first, she didn't want to go but she figured it would take her mind off Chris. She loved him so much and when he broke up with her she was devastated. It took her a long time to get over and to be happy again, and when she finally had, he came back into the picture to make her remember all the pain he had caused her.

"Haley!" Brooke opened the door before she even knocked and threw herself in her arms as if it had been a year since they last saw each other

"Brooke, what is going on?" Haley asked suspicious.

"Nothing I just wanted to hug you." Brooke said shrugging

"Ok now tell me the real reason" Haley said rolling her eyes

"Okay, okay, I'm worried about you Hales" Brooke said concerned written all over her face

"I'll be fine Brooke I promise. Now how about we go shopping?" Haley said smiling at the pretty brunette

"I never say no to shopping, we are going to have so much fun today, too bad Peyton has an art class" Brooke said linking arms with Haley and leaving the house

"Well I think Peyton prefers drawing than shopping Brookie" Haley teased Brooke

"So where's Nathan?" Brooke asked, she just remembered that he slept at Haley's and he didn't come to his house this morning.

"I don't know, he left before I woke up but he said to call him when I wake up." Haley said as she took out her cell phone from her purse

Nathan was driving home when his cell phone rang. He saw Rachel's name on the caller id and he didn't feel like talking to her right now so he ignored the call. A few seconds later his phone rang again, but this time it was Haley.

"Hey" Nathan greeted

"Hey what's up?" Haley asked

"Nothing much, how about you? You feeling better than yesterday?" He asked with a sweet voice

"Yeah, thank you so much for staying with me. I really needed a friend. I don't know how much more I can take" She said the last part in a low voice not wanting Brooke to hear. Brooke was her friend but she didn't feel like talking about this with her, not today.

"I'm here for you Haley, okay?" He said convincingly

"Yeah" She whispered

"So what are you doing?" He asked changing the topic

"Actually I'm in the car with Brooke, she's taking me shopping" Haley said with a louder voice

"Oh cool" He said

"Yeah. Where did you go when you left my house?" She asked curiously

"Hum, I had something to do, I'm on my way home now though" He said

"Oh, okay…"She knew he was hiding something but just brushed it off

"So I'll see you later?" He asked after a moment of silence

"Yep, Brooke and I are going to come back to your house when were done at the mall" Haley said glancing at Brooke driving

"Ok bye" They both said and hung up

"So where was he all this time?" Brooke asked ripping her eyes off the road to look at Haley

"Hum he said he had something to do, but he was going back to his house now." Haley said

"Okay we are here Tutor Girl, you ready to shop?" Brooke asked as if they were going to go do some extreme sport

"As ready as ever" Haley said laughing

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When Nathan got back home, the house seemed empty. He climbed up the stairs to go to his room and rest. When he got there he saw Rachel sitting on the edge of his bed

"Rachel, how did you get in?" Nathan asked abruptly

"Lucas was here when I came" She said looking at him with a smirk

"Oh, what do you want?" He asked, he really didn't feel like making out or be with her at all for that matter

"God what is wrong with you?" She asked desperately

"Nothing, I just want to know what you're doing in my bedroom when I'm not there" He deadpanned

"Oh I get it… you've missed me too much since yesterday." She said sexily while unbuttoning her shirt and walking towards him slowly

"Rachel, no, you should go" He said annoyed

"I know you want me Nathan" She whispered in his ear

"Look Rachel, I'm done, were done." He said and sighed

"Are you saying were not together anymore?" Rachel said angrily

"We were never together Rachel" Nathan stated simply

"Ohh okay, I see, your little friend Haley finally gave it up didn't she?" Rachel said

"No, it's ju- it's none of your business" Nathan said harshly

"Whatever" Rachel huffed. She took her purse and stormed out of his room. He threw himself on his bed and closed his eyes.

Haley had finally managed to convince Brooke that they had shop enough for the day. They arrived at the Scott house with hands full of bags.

"Luke" Brooke called Lucas from the hall

"Gee, what did you buy?" Lucas asked looking at all the bags surrounding the girls

"Things" Brooke said smiling as she gave him a quick kiss on the lips and then turned back to Haley

"Hey Haley" Lucas said sweetly

"Hey Luke, is Nathan here?" Haley asked when she didn't see her best friend

"Yeah, he's in his room" He motioned the stairs as if she never went to his room before Haley thought to herself

"Oh, ok I'll go see him" Haley said walking towards the staircase

She had an awesome day with Brooke, but it didn't change the fact that she felt anger and sadness, because she did. She climbed the stairs to Nathan's room. She could hear the TV behind the closed door. He was probably watching ESPN she thought to herself. She knocked on the door.

"Come in" Nathan said obviously concentrated on the TV

"Hey" Haley said opening the door. He was sitting in his bed watching a basketball game on ESPN, she smiled to herself, she knew him too well.

He diverted his eyes from the TV to look at her. She was so beautiful. She had gorgeous blond locks framing her little face. Her eyes were the most beautiful shade of brown and her smile was just perfect.

"Hey" He said smiling at her

She took off her shoes and came sitting next to him on the bed

"So what'd you do today?" She asked nonchalantly even though she really wanted to know where he'd been all morning

"Not much, did you have a great time with Brooke?" He asked while watching the game

"Yeah, it was fun" She said and looked at the TV even though she didn't really watch. After a moment on silence she couldn't take it anymore so she talked

"Okay this is awkward" Haley said shifting in her position on the bed. They never had those awkward silences where both of them didn't know what to say

He watched her carefully, he didn't want to see her smile fade but he knew he had to tell her.

"I saw Chris today" He said quietly

At the mention of the name, her smile faded as he predicted it to. He took her in his arms and started to talk again

"I told him to stop calling you"

"What did he say" She asked worry written all over he pretty face

"He said okay" Nathan said stroking her arm

"I'm sorry you have to go through all this trouble for me" She said tears threatening to spill

"Hales, don't be. I already told you I will always be there for you. Everything will be fine" He told her looking at her in the eyes

She nodded and looked at him looking at her, and in this moment, she felt love.

"You hungry?" He asked after a few minutes

"Yeah, starving" She said rubbing her tummy

"Okay let's go see what Luke and Brooke are up to" He said releasing Haley from his hold and getting up from his bed

"Probably making-out" Haley said laughing

"Yeah" He said joining in her laughter

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"You guys are hungry?" Nathan asked coming in the kitchen

"Actually we were about to order pizza do you want some?" Lucas asked

"Sure" They both said

"Pizza it is" Lucas said

"Hey lovers" Brooke cheered coming in the kitchen. Something about the way Nathan and Haley looked at each other told her that there was much more than just friendship between the two. She talked about it with Haley but she always told her that they are only friends. She knew one day or another they will both realize that they are meant to be together.

Nathan and Haley rolled their eyes, but deep down inside they both liked the thought of them being together.

**So what did you think? Someone requested spoilers so here's a little hint of the next chapter: Nathan and Haley experience new feelings towards each other, and maybe a kiss. Until then don't forget to tell me what you think.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hey all! Thanks again for all your wonderful reviews; they mean a lot to me. I am so sorry for the long wait but with the holidays and school I've been really busy so I didn't have the time to update, good news is I almost finished the next chapter so I'll probably post it sometime during the week. Until then here's chapter 3, Enjoy and Happy New Year.**

**Chapter 3**

Haley was in the tutoring center when she heard someone call her

"Hey Haley" Marcus, one of the guys on the basketball team said coming up behind her

"Marcus, how are you doing?" Haley greeted him with a genuine smile as she turned around to face him

"I'm doing well. Thanks" He said returning her smile

"So… did you need my help for something?" She asked when she saw he wasn't going to talk again

"Hum, well yeah actually, I wanted to let you know I had a B+ in English." He said proudly

She grinned widely "Marcus, that's so awesome! Congratulations!" She said and went to hug him

"Thanks, but that's all because of you" He said smiling

"Well, I helped you but you did your quiz on your own" She pointed out

"Yeah, anyways, I was wondering if you wanted to come to my party Friday" He said somewhat nervously

"Well, hum yeah, I guess I could come" She agreed smiling

"Okay then, see you tomorrow for tutoring?" He asked walking towards the door

"Yep, see you" She said and returned to her occupations

Finally the day was over; Haley had stayed two extra hours at school to tutor someone. She was walking lazily out of school when she heard a familiar male voice say her name

"Hales" Nathan said catching up next to her

"Hey" Haley smiled at the sight of her best friend

"Hey, what are you still doing here?" He asked turning his head to look at her

"I had tutoring, what are you still doing here?" She returned his previous question

"I had practice" He said sighing

"Wow, Whitey's been hard on you guys?" She asked when she heard his deep tired sigh

"Yeah, like always" He said shrugging

"Oh, you'll be fine, you're a strong boy" She said teasingly patting his back

"Anyway, are you going to give me a ride home?" She asked flashing him one of her prettiest smiles

"And why would I do that?" He asked teasingly

"Because, I'm your best friend and because you wouldn't want me to walk alone in the street when it's getting dark outside" She said matter-of-factly

"Come on, my car's that way" He said shaking his head and pointing his car in the parking lot

"Oh thank you Nate" She said running towards his car

Both of them remained silent during the ride to Haley's house. When they got in front of her house he looked over the passenger seat and smiled at the sight of a sleeping Haley all curled up in a ball like a small child. She looked so peaceful and he didn't want to wake her up, but he whispered softly in her ear that she was home

"Hales… Haley were at your house" He said tugging gently on her arm

She slowly opened her eyes and looked around her

"Want me to carry you up to your room?" He asked smirking, already knowing her answer

She nodded lazily. He smiled at the gesture and took her carefully in his strong arms. He placed her so that her head was resting on his hard chest. He walked to the door and took out the spare key she had giving him since her parents were almost never there, and opened the door. He climbed up the stairs to her room and laid her down on the bed. He saw she was awake so he spoke.

"You know I won't have to work out anymore if I have to carry you like this all the time" he said playfully

"I'm not that heavy, plus you're the one who suggested to carry me up" She pointed out mock-offended

"I know I was just teasing" He said laughing

"Anyway, thank you for the ride" She said smiling at him

"Sure" He said nodding

"So are you going to Marcus's party Friday?" Haley asked

"You know me, I would never miss a party" He said smiling

"Yeah, you would never miss an opportunity to hook up with all the girls" She said rolling her eyes

"Not every girl" He said defensively

"Oh that's right you can't hook up with every girl now since you're with Rachel" She said rolling her eyes again

"Actually I broke up with her" He deadpanned and then smirked at her surprised expression

"Oh… I'm sorry Nathan" She said softly

"Nah… its fine, I mean we weren't in love or anything so" He said shrugging

"Yeah…" She said not knowing really what to say

"Anyway, how'd you know he's having a party?" He asked her obviously changing subject

"Oh yeah, well he invited me and I said yes" She said knowing that he didn't want to talk about Rachel anymore so she just let it go

"Oh, are you guys… you know?" He asked nonchalantly

"No we are not dating" She said laughing at his lack of words

"Oh okay, well not that it would bother me or anything…" He said releasing the breath he didn't knew he was holding

"Nathan its okay, I know you want me" She said smirking

"Oh god" He said bringing his hands up on his forehead

"Anyway, I have to go" He said walking towards the door

"Okay see you tomorrow. Oh and Nate, can you open the lights on your way out please?" She asked him shyly

"Are you… Are you still scared of the dark Hales?" He said amused

"Yes and you are not allowed to laugh at me" She said pouting

"I'm not laughing" He said obviously hiding his huge grin

"Whatever" She huffed

"Ok I'll be sure to open all the lights for you. See you tomorrow" He said leaving the room

Haley waited to see if he opened the lights like she instructed him to and when he left, she drifted to sleep.

Nathan was driving to his house. 'She's still scared of the dark?' He thought smiling at the sooner events.

_Flashback_

"_Okay good night kids" Deb Scott said to the two seven year olds._

"_Night mom" Nathan said sleepily _

"_Night Mrs. Scott" Little Haley said behind her numerous blankets_

_Deb left the room after kissing them both on their foreheads_

_Every time Haley came over to sleep at Nathan's, Deb would always put many blankets on the floor and make them sleep in sleeping bags _

"_Nate?" Haley whispered loudly_

"_What?" Nathan whispered as loudly _

"_Can we open the light?" Haley asked turning her small body to face Nathan_

"_Why?" Nathan asked as if she was dumb_

"_Because" She said lowering her head_

"_If you don't tell me I'm not going to open it" He said folding his arms around his small chest_

"_You're going to laugh at me" She said at the verge of tears_

"_Hales, you're my best friend. I don't laugh at my friends" He said as if it was the most obvious thing _

"_You promise?" She said eyeing him seriously_

"_Yep" He said nodding _

"_I'm scared of the dark" She said with her soft little voice lowering her head scared of his reaction, but raising it after a few seconds when she didn't hear him laugh_

"_It's okay Hales, don't be afraid I'm strong, I can protect you" He said proudly_

"_You're sure?" Haley asked worried_

"_Yes, I always beat Luke when we play" Nathan said grinning_

"_Okay, night Nate" Haley said still unconvinced_

"_Night Haley" Nathan said lying back down in his sleeping bag_

_2 minutes later Haley spoke again_

"_But Nate, what if you're not strong enough" Haley said still worried_

"_I promise that I can protect you, see" He said flashing her his arm to show his muscles_

_But he saw that she was still scared so he got up from the floor and went to his night stand and opened the little drawer. He took out a little night light and went and plugged it in the respectable next to Haley. The little light was enough for Haley to be fearless_

"_Thanks Nate" Haley said and got up from her sleeping bag to hug him and give him a kiss on the cheek_

"_Yuck Haley, you just kissed me" he said rubbing his cheek_

"_Sorry." Haley said embarrassed at her sudden action_

"_Are you still scared now?" Nathan asked crawling back in his sleeping bag next to Haley's_

"_No" She shook her head_

"_Okay, good night" He said pulling his sleeping bag up to his neck_

"_Night" Haley said with her little voice_

_End of Flashback_

When Nathan got back to his house he saw Lucas playing basket-ball in front of the house

"Hey" Nathan said walking towards Lucas

"Hey what took you so long after practice?" Lucas asked making a free-throw at the same time

"Oh I met Haley and brought her home" Nathan said catching the ball Lucas had just threw

"How is she doing?" Lucas asked carefully knowing that Haley was going threw hard things these days

"Fine… I guess. She seems tired though, like she doesn't have as much energy as she had before all the Chris drama… I just wish there's something I could do to help her get through it you know" Nathan said making a basket at his turn

"Well I'm sure she'll be okay, you're a really good friend to her Nate and I know you're helping her more than you think, and she knows it too" Lucas said patting Nathan on the shoulder

"Yeah, well I hope that what I do is enough" He said sighing

"So you and Rachel? It's really over?" Lucas asked as they both sat on the bench

"Is it so hard to believe?" Nathan asked looking at his brother

"I guess not, but I mean you've been acting kind of weird these past few days" Lucas said shrugging

"What does it have to do with Rachel and I?" Nathan asked wondering where he was going with that

"Well you brake up with Rachel and you don't even have another girl, I mean that's a first, Nathan Scott single and not hooking up either" Lucas said shaking his head

"Yeah, well maybe I'm tired of hooking up with random girls" He said rolling his eyes at Lucas

"Oh god, I never thought I'd hear those words come out of your mouth" He said surprised

Nathan just rolled his eyes again "Anyway I'm going to take a shower" He said getting up from the bench and walking inside the house

Haley was standing in front of her mirror putting her favorite lip gloss on when her cell phone started to ring

"Hello" Haley said cheerfully

"Wow Hales, you're in a good mood tonight" A happy Brooke said loudly

"Yeah I am" Haley said smiling to herself

"Good, so are you ready to party?" Brooke asked excitedly

"Yep you're coming to pick me up right?" Haley asked while finishing to put her make-up on

"Uh Hu! I'll see you soon" She said before hanging up the phone

Haley hung up her phone and went back to the mirror to fix her hair. She had a simple purple tank top and her favorite 7 jeans. At first she wanted to tie her hair in a cute ponytail but finally opted for letting them down. A few minutes later, Brooke was honking in front of her house.

"Hey TutorGirl, you look hot" She said flashing her dimpled smile

"Thanks, you look gorgeous too Brookie" Haley said sweetly

"Thanks. Now what's the deal with you and Maaarcus?" Brooke said emphasizing on the Marcus part

"Nothing's going on; he just invited me to his party. As a friend" Haley said emphasizing on the friend part

"Whatever you say friend" She said smiling

When they arrived at Marcus's, the party was already started. Haley spotted him and went over to say hi.

"Haley! I'm glad you came" Marcus greeted her with a warm smile

"Me too" Haley said smiling

"Can I offer you a drink?" Marcus asked casually

"Sure" She said following him to the bar

Nathan arrived a few minutes later and saw Haley and Marcus all cozy with each other. I didn't bother him, he thought to himself. It shouldn't bother him; Haley is just his friend, nothing more he tried to convince himself still looking at the pair. He decided to go over and talk to them.

"Hey" He said sitting down on the chair next to Haley's

"Oh Nathan hey" Haley smiled at him happily

"Nathan" Marcus said giving him a nod

Nathan barely looked at him

They all stayed silent for a few seconds until Marcus talked

"Would you like to dance?" He said getting up in front of Haley extending his hand for Haley to take

"Sure" Haley said taking his inviting hand and following him to where everybody else was dancing

Nathan stayed in his chair watching them dancing together and he felt something built up in his body. Jealousy maybe? No I couldn't be, Nathan Scott was never jealous he tried to convince himself. He got up from his chair and went to take a drink. When he came back he saw Haley and Marcus still dancing flirtatiously and couldn't handle it any longer. He walked straight towards where they were dancing.

"Can I talk to you?" He asked sternly

"Uh yeah… are you okay?" Haley asked confused running a hand threw her hair

"I just need to tell you something" He said less sternly this time

"I'll be right back" Haley said softly turning her head to look at Marcus's upset face

Haley walked past Nathan and went upstairs to have a quiet conversation, he followed her shortly and closed the door when he got in the room Haley had went in

"What are you doing?" Haley asked her arms firmly crossed over her chest

"I should ask you this question" He replied glaring at her

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" She asked raising her voice while walking closer to him

"I know you're a little lost right now Haley, but you don't have to throw yourself in some random guy's arms" He said calmly

"Oh my god, you're jealous?" She said throwing her arms in the air

"I'm not jealous, I'm just looking out for you" He said louder than before

"Well, don't bother" She said turning her back at him and walking to open the door

He went quickly in front of her so that she couldn't walk out

"Hales-" He started and she tried to walk past him but he took her arm to still her

"Let go" She said harshly

He had never heard her voice so cold and harsh with him and it startled him. He didn't know what say or do. He just looked in her shining brown eyes; He brought his hand to the back of her head and pulled her fiercely into a hard kiss.

**Okay I know you probably hate me for the cliffhanger but hopefully the wait will be worth it… Until next time I'd love some feedback and any ideas for new stories are also welcome! **


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hey guys, I want to thank luvnaley23, bellasmomma, naley for life, othandoclover2011, Hera Agathon, JPNeverlosethebutterflies, LaFilmeMichelle, OTH.Daddy'sgurl.06, CynicallyRomantic, lilmonkeygirl31, tinycapricorn12, Nathanlvr23 and pam211 for your all your kind words you guys are awesome!!! This chapter is dedicated to all of you so I really hope you will enjoy it! **

Chapter 4

He let go of her after a few seconds and when he realized what he had just done, regret took over his mind. He didn't regret the kiss, but he regret the fact that this kiss could destroy many years of friendship with the most important person in his life. He closed his eyes scared of Haley's reaction.

"Wha- what was that about?" Haley asked in a shocked whisper

He opened his eyes to see her hurt and confused face

"Haley I'm sorry I-" He said in a low voice not knowing what else to say

"I- I have to go" She said before storming out the door leaving Nathan confused and scared of what was next to come

He wanted to run after her, to explain things, even though he didn't have any explanations, but his body couldn't move so he just watched her run away.

"Fuck" He said running a hand angrily though his hair

He went back downstairs, and left the party

Haley didn't know what to think, she was really mad at Nathan for what he'd done. She wanted to know why, but she couldn't be with him so she ran away. When she got to her room she cried. She didn't know why she was crying, but it felt good at some point. After a while, she decided to call Brooke.

"Hey TutorGirl what's up?" Brooke asked nicely

"He kissed me" Haley said emotionless

"Oh my god, Marcus kissed you this is sooo awesome!" Brooke said excitedly

"Not Marcus, Brooke" Haley said with a shocked voice

"What, well, who did?" Brooke asked confused

"Nathan" Haley whispered, still not able to believe it

"Oh no no no- wow I'm confused" Brooke said still very confused

"Not as much as me" Haley said with a small laugh

"What happened?" Brooke asked softly

"I don't know, I was dancing with Marcus and… and Nathan came up to me and said he needed to talk to me, so we went somewhere quieter… then he started telling me this bullshit about me being lost and drowning my pain by throwing myself in Marcus's arms… and then he kissed me" She said trying her best to swallow a few sobs

"Oh Haley, I'm sorry" Brooke said sympathetically

"Yeah… well anyway thanks for listening to me I already feel better" Haley said trying to sound better

"Are you sure?" Brooke asked knowing she wasn't as fine as she pretended to be

"Yeah Brooke I'm fine, I'll talk to you later ok?" Haley said impatiently. She knows Brooke only wants to protect her and be a good friend but sometimes she just needs to have her alone time

"Ok, call me" She said worried

"I will" She said trying to have a cheerful voice

"Ok bye" Brooke said

"Bye"

Nathan was lying in his bed staring at the ceiling. He thought about calling Haley but then decided against it thinking she would probably hang up on him. He didn't know what to do but one thing he knew was he couldn't stay in his bed one more minute so he left his house and started to walk not knowing where he was going. He walked for about fifteen minutes to end up on Haley's porch. He took out his spare key after debating in his head whether or not he should go in and entered the house slowly looking in the kitchen and in the living room before going up to her room. He opened the door carefully to see Haley changed in her pajamas watching some chick flick.

"What are you doing here?" Haley asked not bothering to look at him

"Sorry" He said simply digging his hands in his pockets

She turned her head so that he couldn't see her tear. She wiped it away quickly to make sure he didn't see. She reluctantly turned around to face him.

"Why" She whispered brokenly

"What?" He asked softly coming closer to her

"Why? Why'd you do it Nathan, why did you kiss me?" Haley said trying to hold back the tears threatening to spill

"I didn't mean to hurt you Haley… I don't know, I… when I saw your face, sad and mad, and hearing your voice harsh, I just… I was so mad at me for making you feel this way and I wanted to take back the words I had said so I kissed you. But after I knew it was a mistake" He said nervously hoping it was enough for her to forgive him

"You had no right Nathan, I was finally having fun again and you just barged in to make my night miserable." She said letting the tears fall down her face

"Haley I was so worried after what Chris did and I blamed myself for not being there enough for you and… if I would've been more attentive to what was going on in your life I could've prevent this but I didn't and everyday I came to see you, you looked so broken and emotionless, and it broke my heart every time I looked into your sad eyes, so I promised myself that I would always protect you and never let anyone hurt you the way Chris did… so I guess I was just being a little protective…"

"A little?" She asked rolling her eyes

"Okay a lot" He admitted with a little laugh "Look Hales I'm really sorry" He said sitting on the edge of her bed

"Promise me to let me be the judge of the people I see in the future please?" She asked

"I Promise" He swore, she smiled and he smiled back hugging her. All the power of their kiss came back at the contact of their bodies, they didn't intend to hold each other for a long time, but they couldn't pull back, and it was weird because they never had this kind of feeling before their kiss when they touched each other in the most innocent ways.

"Umm I should go its late…" Nathan said after pulling back from her

"Yeah…" Haley said with a soft and small voice

"Ok, bye" He said giving her a small smile before getting up from her bed and walking towards the door

"Bye" She said waving to him

After Nathan had left her house, Haley hit her head with her hand, 'What the hell?' she thought. When he gave her that hug, she felt butterflies forming in her stomach and her palms became all sweaty. 'Nathan isn't supposed to evoke those feelings to me'. She shook those thoughts out of her head and turned her attention back to the TV.

The rivercourt was quiet and sullen only lighted in a few spots by the lampposts. Nathan was sitting on a picnic table spinning his basketball in his hands. He never noticed how beautiful Haley became with the years, well he knew she was a pretty girl when they were kids, but now she wasn't the pretty little Haley anymore, she was the beautiful woman Haley James. He was shook out of his reverie when he saw Lucas coming towards him.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you suppose to be at the party?" Nathan asked his brother

"Yeah… but I noticed you and Haley left so I just wanted to see if everything was ok… you both seemed pretty mad" Lucas said taking a seat next to Nathan on the table

"Yeah… we had an argument but its fine now we've talked and everything's fine" He said not really wanting to discuss this with Lucas

"You sure man, I mean I've never seen you missing a party to hang out at the rivercourt…" He said looking around to make sure he was really alone "Alone" he added

"I needed to think about a few things… plus I'm over the hole party phase" He shrugged

"Yeah right" Lucas said laughing

Nathan shot him an annoyed glare

"So… you're ok?" Lucas asked getting up

"Yep, all good." He said glancing at Lucas

"Ok then I'll go back to the party" Lucas said but didn't move to leave

"Thanks Luke…" Luke frowned "For coming here… you know making sure everything's fine" He shrugged. Nathan was definitely not the type of guy who said those kinds of things, but whatever, he thought.

"That's what bros are for right?" He said bumping fists with him

"Yeah" Nathan said smiling

"Nate I want you to know that if you ever need anything I'm here man… ok" Lucas said

He nodded "Yeah same goes for you man"

----------------------------

"Oh my god Haley I'm totally buying this shirt" Brooke squealed showing Haley a purple top

Haley shook her head at the cheery girl in front of her "Brooke maybe you should wait a little you've spent a lot of money today don't you think you have enough clothes?" Haley tried to reason her but as usual Brooke had a really good reason to buy it

"But Hales, I don't have many purple shirts plus purple looks good on me" She said pouting

"Brooke do what you want it's you dad's money not mine" Haley said defeated. Brooke flashed her smile and ran towards the cash to pay. They left the mall a few hours later to go to Haley's house.

"Haley Haley Haley!" Brooke said excitedly clapping her hands

"Brooke are you alright?" Haley asked amused by her silly behavior

"I have the best idea ever" She squealed jumping up and down on Haley's bed

"And can you tell me this idea so that I can jump on the bed with you?" Haley asked laughing

"We should do a sleepover tonight like we used to do when we where kids" Brooke said sitting on the bed

"That's actually a very good idea Brooke" Haley said surprised

"I know" Brooke said grinning

Haley just shook her head and laughed

"Anyway, I'll call everybody to let them know… Oh this is going to be so fun" Brooke said getting up and running out of the room

"Brooke, who exactly is everybody?" She had to make sure everybody wasn't the whole school… you never know with Brooke.

"Luke, Peyton, Jake and Nathan" Brooke said the last one with hesitation

"Is it ok if Nathan comes?" Brooke asked calming herself

"Yeah its ok Brooke, we talked things out so everything is fine" Haley said trying to convince herself more than Brooke. It had been a week since the kiss happened and even though they had talked about things, there was still this awkwardness between them, they barely talked during the past week and Haley knew Nathan wanted to hang out with her but she always found an excuse not to hang out with him, she was pushing him away.

"Good" Brooke said smiling before walking out the door to start planning the sleepover

"Perfect" Haley muttered to herself before pushing herself up to follow Brooke wherever she was going

"Ok friend, call Peyton and Jake and I'll call Luke and Nathan" Brooke said grabbing her cell phone while Haley took the home phone

"Nathan? Is Luke there? Oh wait a minute I want to talk to you too… whatever… anyway, Haley and I are doing a sleepover tonight… you know, like when we were kids… so do you have plans? Ok perfect so be at Haley's at nine… ok and can you please tell Luke too? Ok thanks see you later" She hung up the phone happily

"What'd he say?" Haley asked trying to sound as nonchalantly as possible

"He has no plans so he and Luke are coming!! What about Peyton and Jake?" Brooke asked while looking trough the pantry for food

"They'll be here at nine" Haley said sitting on a stool

"Awesome!" Brooke said turning to look at Haley with a huge grin

"Yep, so do we have to go buy anything to eat?" Haley asked

"Nope you have everything here Hales, whipped cream, strawberries, chocolate syrup that's all we need" Brooke smirked naughtily

"Eww… Brooke please…" Haley scrunched her nose at Brooke naughty thoughts

"Well I would totally be up for a sixsome… if that word even exists" She said the last part to herself

"God Brooke you are sick" Haley said shaking her head

---------------------

"Haley you're not allowed to do that" Brooke said getting up from Lucas's lap

"Yes I'm allowed Brooke… I don't like any of those dares so I pass my turn" Haley said folding her arms over her chest

"Hales c'mon just do it" Lucas said pouting "please?"

"Yeah Hales, if you do it then you'll get to make her pay after" Peyton said smiling

"Hales pleaseeeee" Nathan asked trying not to laugh at her embarrassment

"I hate you all" Haley said before getting up from her spot on the floor and getting in front of Nathan. This has to be the most embarrassing thing in the freaking world, why did Brooke had to make her do a freaking lap dance to Nathan, god she is going to kill her after doing this

Brooke started a song for Haley to dance on. She started moving her hips slowly then her arms and her whole body with the rhythm of the music. She started rubbing Nathan's thighs through his pants and tried to have a confident look even if confidence was far from what she was feeling right now. At the contact of her small hands on his legs, he looked at her and drifted away not thinking about the other people looking in the room and almost forgetting that this was just a game. Everything was blur except for Haley's figure moving smoothly with the music. Her hands were roaming all over his chest, neck, arms. God he was hot. She looked at him in the eyes, this was probably the darkest shade of blue she had ever seen, she could see the lust in them, and looked away quickly. The music finally stopped after what seemed like forever and Haley sighed and moved back to her place next to Peyton not even looking up at Nathan.

"Wow Hales… hidden talents there" Jakes said teasingly

"Yeah Hales you were hot" Brooke said winking at her

Her face was burning "It's hot in here… I think I'm going to get something to drink" She said getting up quickly and almost running out the room

She went outside and sat on the porch, she moaned at the contact of her skin with the fresh air of the autumn night.

"What are you doing out here?" Nathan asked softly from behind her

She turned her head slightly to look at him "I needed air" she said in the same tone

He came sitting next to her and looked at her not saying anything. They both didn't know what to say, so they just sat there looking at the stars in the sky.

"Oh did you see that?" Haley said stretching her hand to touch his arm

"Yeah… a shooting star… do you remember when we used to sit out here all the time and watch the stars all night?" Nathan asked smiling at the memory

"Yeah that was good times" Haley said smiling

"Haley are you ok?" Nathan asked after a few minutes noticing something was bothering her

"Yeah what makes you think I'm not?" Haley asked, oh no this is exactly the conversation she didn't want to have, not tonight.

"I don't know, it's just since you know… last week, maybe its my imagination but it seems like you've been kind of avoiding me and I thought everything was ok between us but if it isn't with you I'd really appreciate you telling me" he said turning his body a little so that they were facing each other

"I know I've been pushing you away this week and I'm sorry, I guess there are things going on in my life, but really I'm not mad at you or anything" She said lowering her head a bit not able to look at his concerned eyes

"Haley, you know you can always talk to me right? You know that whenever you need me I'm just a phone call away?" He asked when she raised her head to look at him

"My parents bought an RV; they want to travel the country so I guess I'll live alone for good… I know I've practically lived by myself for 2 years now, but I mean now it's more real you know, official" She said

"Oh Hales, come here" He said pulling her tight against him. She buried her head in his hard chest and all the emotions she had kept inside came out and a pool of tears wet Nathan's shirt, but he didn't care. He let her cry and just held her until she lifted her head to look at him. Her eyes full of worries.

"Everything's going to be ok right?" Haley asked vulnerably

"Ok listen to me" He said raising his hands to cup her face "You are the strongest girl I've ever met, hell the strongest person I've ever meant; I have faith in you Haley. Plus you have me, I'm not going anywhere and you have Brooke and Peyton and Luke and Jake. And it's not because your parents decided to travel that they don't love you because I know they do, they love you so much Hales and I know you know it too."

"Yeah… thanks" She said hugging him tighter

"Anytime, anytime" he said hugging her back

"Hey you did a pretty good lap dance there" He said teasingly

"Shut up" She said smacking his chest playfully

"What? It's the truth" He said wiggling his eyebrows

"Nathannnnnnnnn" She whined, and he just laughed

"I did it" He said proudly

"What?" She asked confused

"I made you smile, it's been a while since I've seen you smile like this" He said sweetly

"Well you did it! You always do it" She said smiling again

They were still entangled in their hug and they locked eyes, blues on browns, when he looked at her with this intensity it made her all nervous so she looked away.

"Okay let's go back inside their probably waiting for us" Haley said disentangling from his embrace

"They probably forgot about us" Nathan said laughing

"Yeah, actually you're probably right" She said joining his laughter

They got up from their spot on the porch and headed inside the house to go back in the living room with their friends. Haley smiled at the sight of their four friends sleeping peacefully, Brooke and Lucas on the couch and Peyton and Jake on the blankets on the floor.

"Wow looks like they had fun" Haley whispered to Nathan

"I guess" He said chuckling

"And they didn't bother leaving us any space to sleep" Haley said

"Well you go in your bed Hales" Nathan said kindly

"What about you?" Haley asked

"I don't know I'll sleep in one of the guest rooms" He said shrugging

She nodded, moving past him to go upstairs to her room and he followed her to go in the guest room. When they got to Haley's room she turned around to look at Nathan

"Come sleep in my room, like when we were kids" She said softly hoping he wouldn't decline. For some reason she didn't want to sleep alone tonight.

"You sure Hales?" He asked not wanting to make things more awkward then they already are, or were. He doesn't know anymore

"Nathan you are my best friend, you've slept in my bed many many times, and I slept in yours as much or even more, so come on don't be ridiculous" Haley said smiling slightly

Nathan nodded and followed her in her room and closed the door behind him. Since they had the sleepover thing they had already changed in their pajamas. Haley was already snuggled up in her soft blankets when Nathan climbed in bed next to her. She turned her body so that she was facing him

"Tell me a story" She asked childishly

"What?" Nathan asked amused

"Please tell me a story" She asked flashing him one of her most charming smiles she knew made him do anything she wanted

"Fine" He groaned

"Yay" Haley said clapping her hands softly

"Once Upon a time, a boy and a girl were the bestest friends in the whole wide world. They fought a lot, like a brother and a sister, but they loved and cared about each other very much and they were always there no matter what to help the other. They remained by the other's side for the rest of their lives and they lived happily ever after" He glanced at Haley to see she had fallen asleep, and he had fallen in love even if he didn't realized it yet.

**So, what do you think? Good? Bad? Anyway please review and know that I love to read all of your comments!! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, there are no words to say how sorry I am for making you all wait so long for an update but let's just say a lot has been going on in my life and I lost somebody I really cared about a couple of weeks ago so I was kind of bummed and didn't have inspiration to write. Anyway enough about me, I hope none of you gave up on this story because I promise all the best is to come. Here is the next chapter. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 5**

Mondays. Monday is the worst day of the week; Haley thought when she heard her alarm clock go off. She stretched her arm lazily to shut it and yawned deeply before heading to the bathroom to start her shower. Her week-end had been pretty good since things with Nathan seemed to have been fixed. But she still had a feeling that they weren't like before, she didn't know exactly what changed but it definitely wasn't the same relationship that they had cherished for the last 10 years. After getting ready, Haley headed to school for another day. And god knew how Haley James's days were eventful.

When she got to school she spotted Brooke and Peyton on the quad so went in their direction.

"Hey girlie" Brooke said smiling

"Hey girls" Haley said hugging both Brooke and Peyton

"So what was the deal with you and Nathan Saturday night?" Brooke asked curiously

"We just had some things to talk about since you know… the kiss…" She still felt uncomfortable saying it out loud

"Well it seems like everything worked out fine since you two slept together" Brooke said smirking

"Brooke!" Peyton and Haley said at the same time

"I know, I know you didn't sleep together in this way…well come to think of it maybe you did because we were sleeping…" Brooke said chuckling at Haley's light blush

"Brooke I am so going to kill you…" Haley said shooting Brooke and warning look

"Oh did I just hear the bell ring? Yes I did… ok gotta go see ya at lunch" Brooke said quickly running away before Haley could say something

"God, remind me why were friends with her again" Haley groaned and Peyton just chuckled and grabbed Haley arm to go to their first class

Nathan had been thinking about Haley since the sleepover. Every time the image of her sleeping peacefully next to him comes to his mind he finds himself thinking of… well thinking of things he shouldn't be thinking of. He was never the guy to fantasize about a girl because he didn't have to, he could have them all, but for some reason he did that a lot these days, about Haley. It bothered him, he didn't want to feel this way towards her, it would complicate everything, and he didn't have the strength to compromise their friendship for some stupid fling. The sound of the bell woke him from his trance. It was now lunch time and Nathan was kind of nervous to see Haley because they hadn't see each other since the sleepover, so he wondered if things would be still awkward or what… He made his way to his locker where he was met with the last person he wanted to see right now. He groaned

"What do you want Rachel?" Nathan asked impatiently not even glancing at her

"I just wanted to see if you got your senses back, and if you maybe want to apologize for treating me the way you did the other day?" She said with her annoying voice

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Nathan said turning to finally look at her

"Well you went off on me and I'm here to give you the chance to take you back" She said smiling innocently

"Oh god, I must be fucking dreaming right now. I can't believe your saying this, god Rachel, when I told you we were done the other day I meant it, we never were a couple it was just sex Rachel let it go" He said before shutting his locker shut and walking away leaving a startled Rachel by herself

Nathan smiled for the first time today when he saw his friends laughing and goofing around at their usual lunch table. He walked to them and sat down next to Haley who smiled at him brightly.

"Well, you seem to be in a good mood today miss James" Nathan said smiling at her

"I saw you and Rachel back there, you seemed pretty mad, did you fight?"

"Umm yeah, let's just say I had to clear a few things up but everything's good now" He said not wanting to talk about her anymore

"Hey Nate, Whitey told me practice was off tonight" Lucas said when he and Brooke had finally stopped their pda session

"Oh, ok, did he say why?" Nathan asked

"Nope, anyways were going see you guys later" Lucas said pulling Brooke from her bench

"See you later" Nathan and Haley said

"So I've been thinking…" Haley started

"What were you thinking of in that mind of yours?" Nathan asked curiously

"I think we should hang out more together, you know, like we used too because we obviously don't know each other as well as we used to and well I guess that's why we grew apart and so I thought maybe if we started to do things together again, you know the two of us, maybe we'll get to know each other all over again" She said and he could tell she was nervous to tell him this and to see his reaction

"Yeah, sure" he said smiling

"Yeah?" Haley asked again to make sure he wanted the same thing

"Yeah Haley, it's a good idea, really." He said patting her arm

"Ok then why don't we start this tonight?" He said and regretted it right after it came out. But when she looked at him with her famous smile he scratched this thought off his mind right away.

"Sure, what do you want to do?" Haley asked

"I don't know what do you want to do?"

"Umm well we could watch movies at my house if you want" She said somewhat shyly

"Movies it is" He said loving the idea

"Ok well we better get to class" Haley said glancing at her watch

"Yeah" He said getting up from his bench and grabbing his backpack

"Ok so I'll see you later"

"Yeah do you want to go to your house together right after school or do you want me to come later?" He asked hoping for the first option

"I can't say no to a ride" She said chuckling

"Ok, see you later" Nathan said laughing softly before heading to his class

------------------

Haley had been waiting next to Nathan's car for the past fifteen minutes but he was nowhere in sight. A million thoughts ran through her head 'what if he changed his mind' 'what if he forgot' 'should I go look for him' but she stayed there waiting until she heard fast steps coming her way. She turned around to se a very breathless Nathan

"Where were you" She asked concerned

"I'm sorry Hales, I forgot I had to meet with the guiding counselor today" He said apologetically

"It's ok, I was starting to worry" She said hopping in the car

"Awww you were worrying about me how sweet of you Hales" Nathan teased

"Oh shut up" She said trying to hide her smile

He just laughed

--------------------

They had both settled in the James's living room on their big comfy couch with many blankets to Haley's demand and they were eating their Chinese take-out.

"Hales, I don't want to watch The Notebook" Nathan whined

"But Nate this is like the best movie ever, please pretty please?" Haley said with those puppy dog eyes nobody could resist to

"Alright, but I get to chose the other one" He warned

"Yay thank you" She said excitedly like a child

"You're such a child Haley James" Nathan said shaking his head chuckling

"I know" She said smiling

And Nathan just stared at her at that moment and he had the urge to kiss her, to do her right there. She was so cute and sexy at the same time, but like always he knew he couldn't think that.

"You're staring at me" Haley said amused

"What?"

"You were staring at me Nathan, oh my god do I have something on my face?" She asked dramatically

"No, Hales you're perfect" He said laughing

"So why were you staring?" She asked with a mischievous look

"I was not staring, I just zoned out for a minute" He shrugged

"Anyway, let's put the movie on" She said getting up and popping the movie in the DVD player

Surprisingly Nathan found himself enjoying the movie, but of course he couldn't tell Haley that. They were now on their second movie which Nathan had picked out, a guy movie as usual, but Haley liked action movies, well not as much as chick flicks but she liked them.

"Can you pause the movie, I have to go to the bathroom" Haley said getting up from their little nest they had made with all the blankets

"Come on Hales we can't pause it at five minutes from the end, can't you wait e few minutes?" Nathan asked like it was a big deal

"Nooo I can't" She said running out the room

Nathan just rolled his eyes and paused the movie. After a few minutes Haley came back and they watched the last minutes of the movie.

"So that was fun" Nathan said during the credits rolled

"Yeah, it was really fun Nathan, thanks for coming" She said

"My pleasure" He said nicely

"So are your parents coming home soon?" He asked changing the subject

He saw right away the expression on Haley's face change from happy to sad and regretted bringing up that subject

"Actually, I don't know because they haven't been calling for a week now so I don't know, they must be busy." She said trying her best to keep a smile on her face

"Why don't you call them?" Nathan asked gently

"I don't want them to worry about me" She said shrugging

"Haley, you're their daughter they'll always worry about you, you should call them and tell them that you miss 'em, maybe they'll come home" He said softly

"Nathan they can't just quit their job because I want them to be here with me, that would be selfish. Plus I'm fine" She said sighing impatiently

"No, you're not" he said matter-of-factly

"How would you know?" She bit back

"Sorry" She said softly

"It's ok" He said rubbing her arm

"Hales you have to face it, you miss them, you don't like living in a big house all by yourself, I can tell" He said looking at her

She bend her head so that he couldn't see the tears forming in her eyes

"Look at me" He said

Slowly she brought her brown eyes up to meet his cobalt blues and she could see the concern in his eyes and it only made her want to cry more.

"Call them Haley" he told her nicely but firmly

"I can't right now" She said taking a deep breath to regain her composure

He sighed, not completely satisfied of her answer but he couldn't force her

"Ok, but promise me you will, when you're ready" he said

"Ok, I promise" She said and smiled when she saw a satisfied smile on his face

"Anyway I should go" He said looking at his watch

She didn't want him to go. He was right she hated to be alone in this big house, it scared her but for some reason she wouldn't admit it and even if she would, what difference would it make?

"Ok, I'll see you at school tomorrow" She said softly getting up and walking with him to the front door

"Yeah" He said and gave her a big hug before leaving

-------------------

"Hey Nathan!" Haley called him from her locker

"Hey" Nathan said coming next to her

"I wanted to say sorry for yesterday night…" She said fidgeting with the hem of her shirt

"For what?" He seemed lost

"You know, for me whining about my parents, it seems every time were together these days the only thing I do is cry about my parents and you have to comfort me and I'm sorry that's not fair to you-"

"Haley listen to me ok? I was the one who initiated the subject if I remember well and even if it hadn't been me I don't mind ok?" He said firmly

"Yeah ok" She said smiling

"Now come on I'll walk you to class" He said extending his hand for her to take it

The day went by pretty fast and Haley had thought about what Nathan had told her the day before about calling her parents. At the beginning she didn't want, didn't want them to worry about her but she changed her mind and was now in front of the phone hesitating a little bit. Before dialing her mother's cell phone number

"Hi mom" Haley said when the woman on the other line picked up

"Bub, how are you? I'm so sorry we didn't call you this week" Lydia James said sweetly

"It's ok mom, I'm doing well how are you and dad?" Haley asked softly

"Were very busy and we miss you so much, but we're fine" Her mother said smiling on the other line of the phone

"I miss you too" She said emotionally

"Haleybub are you ok sweetheart?" Lydia asked concerned

"Yeah mom, I'm fine… It's just I miss you and dad and I really want you guys to come home" Haley said her voice cracking because of the tears forming in her throat

"Oh huney, we'll come home as soon as possible I promise" Lydia said tears noticeable in her voice

"I love you mom" Haley said letting the tears take her voice over

"I love you Bub, I'll call you tomorrow and we'll come home this week-end ok?" Lydia said to her youngest daughter

"Really?" Haley asked hopefully

"Yes" Lydia said smiling

"Ok see you soon and say hi to dad" Haley said happily

"Will do" Her mother said

After hanging up the phone, she let out a long breath she didn't know she had been holding in and it felt good. Her parents were coming home and that made her happy, even if they were probably going to leave again she would take all the time she could have with them.

----------------------

Nathan and Lucas had been playing NBA live 2006 for the last few hours in the Scott entertaining room

"So where's Brooke been?" Nathan asked his brother

"She actually got in a fashion show in New York so she's working really hard on her designs" Lucas said proudly

"Wow that's big right?" Nathan asked impressed

"Yep man, she's thrilled" Lucas said still concentrating on the game

"What about you?" Nathan asked

"What about me?" Lucas returned the question

"Are you happy for her?"

"Of course I am. It's just… you know she's so caught up in her designs we barely see each other anymore" Lucas said finally pausing the game to look at his brother

"Yeah… that sucks… you should tell her I mean that you don't spend as much time as you did before maybe she's just to concentrated on her work" Nathan said trying to help

"Yeah… I'll go see her" He said

As Lucas was about to leave, Haley arrived.

"Hi Luke" Haley said with a big smile

"Hey" Lucas said giving her a hug

"Is Nathan home?" She asked motioning inside the house

"Yep he's in the entertaining room" Lucas said before leaving

Haley let herself in the Scott house and to the entertaining room to find Nathan

"Hey" Haley said from behind the couch where Nathan was sitting

"Hales, what are you doing here?" Nathan asked pausing his game to look at her

"I have something to tell you" She said going around the couch to sit next to him

"Ok what is it?" He asked curiously

She took a deep breath and put on one of her famous grins "I called my mom" She squealed

Nathan's eyes widened and his lips stretched in a perfect smile "Hales that's awesome" He said giving her a hug

"I know… and there's more" She said excitedly

"What?"

"Their coming this week-end" She said

"Haley I'm so proud of you" Nathan said giving her the smile he reserved for only the important persons in his life

"Well it was all because of you" She said smiling back at him

"No it wasn't" He said softly

"Anyway I'm so happy their finally coming home even if it's just for the week-end" She said and she sounded happy

"You look so happy" Nathan said quietly

"I am" She said as quietly as him

He just looked at her with such admiration at that moment and she felt her stomach twist, and her palms getting sweaty. 'What the hell' she thought 'He never had this kind of effect on me' 'Oh my god do I like him?' 'No no no no I don't… do I?' 'Shit, I do' she thought

**So what'd you think? Good? Bad? Every comment is constructive and remember I read all of your reviews! Anyway for all of you who like spoilers here are a few things you might want to know about the chapters to come: a party, a drunk Nathan, a tipsy Haley and a beach… **


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Hey guys, just dropping a new chapter by!!! It's a long one so I hope you'll like it!!! Here it is**

**Chapter 6**

"Haley Bop!!!" A joyful Lydia James said from the front door

"Mom" Haley exclaimed from the top of the staircase before quickly coming down the stairs

"Air" Lydia said when Haley hugged her so tight

She pulled back and smiled sheepishly

"Where's dad?" Haley asked looking passed her mother for any sight of her father

"Oh he's just unpacking the car" Lydia said motioning outside the house

"You guys are staying for how long?" Haley asked

"Dad" She suddenly exclaimed happily

"How's my girl doing?" Jimmy James said dropping his bags on the floor to give her daughter a hug

"Good, what's with all the bags?" Haley asked after pulling back from her father's embrace

"Well honey we wanted to tell you later but I guess we'll tell you now…" Lydia said glancing at Jimmy then back at Haley

"Ok…" Haley said cautiously

"We are staying home Bop" Jimmy beamed happily

"What?! You're staying like for good? No more trips?" Haley asked calmly not wanting to get excited over nothing

"Yep… we decided to take the business from home and trips will be occasional but we're back for good" Lydia said smiling when Haley threw her arms around her shoulders

"Hey don't I get a hug?" Jimmy said playfully and stretched out his arms invitingly to Haley

"Well I guess you could" Haley said smiling and hugging her dad as he demanded

"I am so happy that you decided to take your business home I love you" Haley said with a permanent smile on her face

"We are glad to Bop" Lydia said walking passed her ruffling her hair by the way

"Why don't you come help your old dad unpack the car?" Jimmy asked Haley

"Sure" Haley said flashing her dad a smile and walking passed him to the car

--------------------

"Nathan come down here" Dan Scott yelled from kitchen of the Scott house

"Coming" Nathan yelled from his room

"What's up dad?" Nathan asked sitting across his dad on a stool

"I should ask you the same" Dan said glancing at Nathan from his newspaper

"What is it?" Nathan asked as he crossed his arms over his muscular chest

"How many points did you made at the last game?" Dan asked calmly but his eyes were contradicting his mood sending Nathan daggers

"28" Nathan said trying to be as calm as possible

"28?" Dan asked rising his voice

"Yeah 28 dad! Is there a problem with that?" Nathan asked losing his composure by every second

"Yes there's a problem Nathan!" Dan yelled slamming his hand on the shiny marble island

"What do you want dad?" Nathan asked getting up from his stool and shooting Dan the same death glare he had made previously

"I want you in the gym" Dan yelled at his son

"My game's fine dad… 28 points is good so just drop it" Nathan said turning away to leave

"It's not enough" Dan said coming behind Nathan

Nathan turned around to look at his dad and attempted to reply but nothing that he could say would make Dan Scott change his mind. 28 points is not enough for him. period.

"Whatever dad" Nathan said passing a hand through his messy hair

"You better work hard for the next game Nathan" Dan said and Nathan left slamming the front door

He walked and as usual he ended up at the rivercourt.

"Hey there" Haley said from behind

He turned around and smiled at the sight of his best friend

"Hey" Nathan said sending her a smile

"What's up?" She said sitting on one of the picnic tables

"Not much" He shrugged playing with his basket-ball

Haley tilted her face to look closely at him

"What's wrong?" She asked. She knew him so well that she could tell right away when something was bothering him just by looking at his facial expression and at his blue eyes

"Why would something be wrong?" Nathan asked her lifting his head to meet her gaze

"Nathan don't bullshit me… come on what's bothering you" Haley nudged him in the arm gently encouraging him to talk to her

"It's my dad…" He sighed

"Yeah… should've thought about it" Haley nodded

"Yeah… anyway it's not a big deal" He said trying to put on a smile but failing miserably

"What's it about now?" Haley asked

"What do you think? Basket-ball" He said rolling his eyes

"Yeah… should've thought about that too… Sorry" She said and he laughed

"Yeah…"

Silence took over both of them thinking… until Haley broke the silence

"Oh hey guess what" Haley said excitedly joining her hands together

"What" He asked curiously

"My parents came back this morning…"

"Hales that's great" Nathan said smiling stretching his arms to give her a hug

"That's not it… well yeah but not exactly" Haley said confusing herself at her own words

"Anyway they are staying home for good" Haley beamed excitedly

"Haley that's so awesome!!" Nathan exclaimed as excitedly as Haley

"I know… I'm glad you talked me into calling them though because if I hadn't done it then they probably wouldn't be here now" Haley said linking her arm with him and resting her head on his shoulder

He just looked down at her and smiled, and again they fell in a comfortable silence for a few minutes

"What are you thinking about?" Haley asked quietly

"I was thinking that since my dad's an ass and your parent's are back we should do something fun tonight" Nathan said smirking

"Umm…ok… what do you have in mind?" She said laughing

"A party, at the beach house" He said shrugging evilly

Haley looked at him and contemplated the idea

"You know what… I think it's a good idea" Haley said a smile spreading itself on her pretty features

"I thought you would" Nathan said matching her smile

They stayed at the rivercourt for a while and then headed their own way to call the most people possible to tell them about the last minute party. Haley decided to go at Brooke's house to get ready with her.

"So… are you going to go to New York?" Haley asked sitting on Brooke's bed while flipping the pages of a Vogue magazine

"Yeah…" She said hesitatingly

"Ok that was definitely not a 'yes Haley I'm so excited' it was more of a 'Yes but there's something bothering me' so what is it?" Haley asked closing the magazine and placing it on the floor

"It's just… Lucas… he told me that we don't spend much time together since I'm working on the fashion show and I kind of got mad at him and we got in a fight… but Haley, he should be happy for me you know?" She came sitting in front of Haley on the bed

"Yeah, but I think you took it the wrong way, I mean he just told you that you practically haven't seen each other for the past week now and he just misses you… I know he's happy for you Brooke because he tells everybody about it and how proud of you he is" Haley said

"I know… I'm just so nervous" Brooke said playing with her fingers

"I know but hey if you need help with anything I'm here" Haley said patting her friend's arm

"Well I'll talk to him tonight at the party, we'll talk, and then we'll make up and-" Brooke said a grin spreading across her face

"Brooke, I'd rather not have the image of you two making up in my head please!" Haley said scrunching her nose in mock-disgust

"Ok, I'll spare you the details" She said giggling

"Thanks, so what should I wear?" Haley asked looking through Brooke's huge walk-in closet

"Anything you want my dear" Brooke had insisted on lending Haley some of her clothes claiming that Haley's were too conservative

After rummaging through all the clothes, Haley picked out a simple purple Juicy Couture sundress and pair of gold flip-flops. Her auburn hair was loosely framing her round face in soft curls.

Brooke had opted for daisy duke shorts, a green tank top and black ballerina flats. Her straight raven hair was up in a ponytail.

"Wow you look awesome TutorFriend" Brooke looked up and down Haley's body and finally gave her an approving nod accompanied by one of her own dimpled smiles

"Thanks. You look good too"

"I know" Brooke said mischievously

Haley just shook her head and laughed

"Are we ready?" Haley asked

Brooke looked around the room and in the mirror before nodding "Yep, let's go have some fun"

----------------

"Wow, there are a lot of people here" Brooke said looking at Haley when they got out of Brooke's car

"Seems like it" Haley said before taking Brooke's arm and leading her inside the beach house

"Oh god half of the people are already drunk" Haley said rolling her eyes

"Oh there's Lucas" Brooke said running towards him before Haley could say something

Haley searched the house to find a familiar face but couldn't find anybody so she went in the kitchen to take a drink

"What is a pretty girl like you doing here all by herself?" someone said from behind her

"Actually I'm not by myself; Nathan is my best friend…" Haley said but was cut off

"No I mean what you are doing without a boyfriend" He said smirking

"Oh" She said dumbly taking a sip of her drink

"Yeah, so what's your name?" He asked flirtatiously

"Haley" She said taking another gulp of the fresh liquid in her cup

"Nice to meet you Haley, I'm Jason" He said offering her his hand

"Nice to meet you Jason" She said shaking his hand

"Do you want another drink?" He asked her when she groaned because her plastic glass was empty

"Yeah please" She said smiling

He poured her another glass of alcohol and gave it to her

"Thanks" She said taking a long sip

"Sure, so do you want to go somewhere quieter so we can talk?" He asked smiling at her

"Yeah ok" She said grinning and following him outside. They sat down on the balcony and talked for a while

"So you don't have a boyfriend?" He asked getting closer to her. She was starting to feel the effect of the alcohol on her system and she giggled at his question

"No I don't have a boyfriend" She said laughing

-----------------

Nathan had been looking for Haley since he'd seen Brooke with Lucas an hour ago but hadn't caught a glimpse of her.

"Haley?" Nathan said looking outside scrunching his eyes to see in the darkness of the night

"Oh Nathan hey" Haley said loudly waving her hand at him

"Hey" He came closer to where she and Jason were. He could tell she had been drinking a lot.

She attempted to get up to give him a hug but tripped on her own foot. Fortunately Nathan caught her before she could touch the ground

"Hales your drunk" Nathan said when he smell the alcohol in her breath

"No I'm not" She shook her head her hands still wrapped around him

"Who's your friend?" He motioned the guy who had gotten up from his spot

"Jason" Haley said proudly

"Ok, well you can go back in the party now, I've got her" Nathan said to Jason who hadn't spoke a word since Nathan arrived

"No it's fine, Haley and I were just about to have our own little party right Haley?" He said cockily

"Huh?" Haley asked confused

"I don't think so" Nathan said before Jason could reply

"I think you should mind your own business" Jason said narrowing his eyes

"Haley is my business so I think you should go back inside before I do something we'll both regret" Nathan said warningly

"Nathan don't be mean, he probably only wanted to play a game or talk" Haley said naively

"Haley, did you hear what he just said?" Nathan asked irritated by her naiveté

"Whatever man, she told me she didn't have a boyfriend. I'm just going to go back inside" Jason said going back inside. Nathan followed him with his eyes until he was in the house

"How much did you have to drink?" He asked looking back at Haley

"I don't know and I don't care" She sing-song-ed and erupted in a fit of giggles

Nathan couldn't help but laugh at her antics

"I want to go down to the beach Nathan" She said pointing to the ocean

"Ok, wait here I have to go get something" Nathan said and rushed inside

He came back with a tequila bottle and two shot glasses

"Ok let's go" Nathan said taking Haley's hand

--------------

"Nathan we are drunk" Haley giggled

They had been sitting in the sand for the past couple of hours just drinking and playing with the sand

"No, I'm not drunk, but you definitely are" He said chuckling

"Let's go swimming" She said her eyes sparkling with excitement

"Now?" Nathan asked raising an eyebrow

"Yes"

"Do you have your swimming suit?" He asked

She nodded and smiled widely at him

"Ok then let's go swimming" He said stripping off his shirt only leaving his swimming suit shorts

"On 3… 1, 2, 3 go" Haley said and they both sprinted into the ocean

"I beat you" Haley said pointing a finger at him

"I let you win" Nathan said shrugging

She didn't answer

"Haley?" Nathan asked when he didn't see her

"Hales?"

She jumped on his back from behind "Oh you are dead" Nathan said and picked her up before she could escape and dunked her in the cool water

"Game on" She said before splashing water on him

Some people also had the idea to go for a swim so after a while they weren't the only ones in the water

"Why do they have to come while were here?" Haley pouted clearly she was still drunk

"Hales, the ocean doesn't belong to us" He said chuckling

"I know but… its way more fun when we have it all to ourselves" She said with a mischievous look in her eyes

Nathan walked slowly behind her and picked her up quickly to throw her back in the water with a satisfied smirk planted on his face

Haley's face reappeared form under the water, she squinted her eyes and wiped the water on her face, and she couldn't help but laugh. But her laughter stopped dead and her eyes went wide.

"Oh my god Nathan" Haley said looking at him with wide eyes

"What?" He asked coming closer to her

"My top, my bikini top Nathan" She brought her hands to her bare chest to hide it

"What's the problem with- oh god wait it must be somewhere here" He said trying to look around him to find her white bikini through the water

"Nathan find it, hurry" Haley said looking around to make sure nobody was looking

"I'm trying here Hales I can't see- I got it" he exclaimed lifting his hand in the air with the white garment

"Nathan lower your hand" She hissed

"Now how will I put it back on?" She mumbled looking at her two hands protectively surrounding her breast and at her top in Nathan's hands

She covered her chest with one arm and with the other quickly took the bikini from Nathan's hands and struggled to put it on.

"Would you please tie it for me?" Haley said lifting her long silky hair

Nathan nodded and moved behind her to tie her little top "Is that ok?" He asked quietly

"Yes" She said and turned around to look at him

They looked into each other's eyes for several seconds before Haley moved closer to him and crashed her mouth on his in a hard and passionate kiss. Nathan was shocked by her actions but quickly brought his hands to cup her delicate face and when her tongue requested the entrance of his mouth, he opened it slowly and she slid her silky tongue in rubbing it smoothly against his. Their tongues battled for domination, and teased each other's. He nibbled her bottom lip not wanting to break the contact but when the need for air became too big, she pulled apart and rested her forehead against his. They kept their eyes shut for a long moment. When they opened them they just looked at each other for the longest time not knowing what to say. He brushed her air out of her face gently and caressed her cheeks with his thumbs.

"Hales…" He whispered huskily against her mouth

"Shhh" She whispered back before closing the gap between them for a softer and kinder kiss. Nathan pulled back when he felt her shivering against his body

"You're cold we should go back inside" He said rubbing her arms to warm her

"Yeah…" She said softly

He took her hand, led her out of the fresh water and gave her his t-shirt until they got towels inside

"Come on let's go inside" He said taking her hand again as they ran inside the beach house

"Here" He handed her a towel

"Thanks" She took it and dried her hair with it

They went in Nathan's room; he took out a sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants and handed them to Haley

"Go put this on" He motioned his bathroom

When she came out he was lying on his bed waiting for her to come out

She went to sit next to him on the bed "I'm sorry Nathan…" She trailed off

"Are you?" Nathan asked

"What, of course I am-" She said and brought a hand to her head

"Here take those" He gave her two Tylenols and his bottle of water

She did as instructed and continued to talk "Are you mad?" She asked quietly

"No, why would I be? I mean I kissed you too"

"So why did you ask me if I was sorry?" She asked looking at him

"Because I'm not" he simply answered

"What?" She asked confused

"I'm not sorry that I kissed you"

"Oh, uh…" She didn't know what to say

"Hales its fine… It's ok" He said sending her a little smile

"Me too" She said before she could even think about it

"What?" he asked confused at his turn

"I'm not sorry either" She said looking everywhere but at him

"Look at me" He commanded

"Nathan…"

"Look at me" He said it again and she reluctantly brought her eyes to meet his

"What does this mean?" She asked tiredly

She climbed further into the bed to lie down next to him laying her head on his shoulder

"I don't know Hales" He said absent mindedly playing with her hair

"I love you" She blurted out

He stopped all movements in her hair; his breath caught in his throat and he looked at her with questioning eyes

"Oh god… Nathan god I'm sor-" She covered her face with her hands to avoid looking at him

"Haley…" He started

"No Nathan, really I'm sorry I shouldn't have said that especially now that we've got back to normal you know… I don't want things to be awkward again between us and… and-" She was cut off by his lips crashing on hers to shut her up. He then pulled back looking at her with his dark cyan eyes searching her brown ones.

"Did you mean it?" He asked not breaking the eye contact

"I, well I mean… I" She started

"Haley" Nathan prodded for her to stop the rambling

"Yes ok! Yes I mean it" She chocked out braking eye contact so that he couldn't see the fresh tears trimming her eyes

He softly brought his hand to rest on her cheek and turned her face so that he could look into her soulful eyes

"I love you" He whispered softly and grinned when a bright smile formed on her lips.

"Oh my god" She said smiling and wiping her still crying eyes

"Hales don't cry" She said wiping tears off her soft skin with the pads of his thumbs

She brought her hands around his neck and pulled him down for a passionate kiss. His tongue traced her plump lips demanding entrance and she happily responded opening her mouth letting his tongue rub against hers. When the need for air became an issue, she pulled back breathing heavily. He rested his forehead on hers and nibbled at her bottom lip before opening his eyes.

"We should get you home" He said breathlessly

"Yeah…" She said softly

"I told my mom I was sleeping at Brooke's but I guess since she and Lucas made-up she's probably sleeping here…" She said yawning

"Are you telling me I'll have to share my bed tonight?" He asked teasingly

"I sure am… and you better get used to it" She said chuckling

"Oh I don't need any getting used too Hales, I'm already used to you" He said smiling mischievously

"I think I'm used to you too" She said matching his smile

**Ok so I hope you liked the way I brought them together… Please tell me what you think!!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, I've actually started to write a**** new story that I am probably going to post when I have the first few chapters written, it is quite different from this one but if you like my style look out for it soon! As for this story I initially planned it to be about 10 chapters but I think it'll be a little longer than what I intended it to be, I'm thinking about 15 chapters… anyway we'll see as it progress but I might skip to college at one point I'm not completely sure about that though… anyway here's chapter 7!**

Hey eyes slowly fluttered open as she felt his hand brushing against her bare arm, and smiled when she saw him smiling back at her from his position on the bed.

"Hi" He said after a few moments

"Hi" She said giggling not knowing why, fighting the urge to roll her eyes at herself for her over-girly reaction

His hand slid down her arm lightly to take her hand in his and tangle their fingers together

"So it wasn't a dream?" She asked looking at their joined hands

"No it was not" He said, becoming nervous hoping she didn't regret any of last night's events

"Good" She said smiling reassuringly at him when she noticed his nervousness

He let out a breath and grinned at her before leaning down to kiss her tenderly on the lips. A moan escaped his lips when her silky tongue entered his mouth leaving its mark in every crevices of his mouth before pulling back.

"So… this is" She said blushing lightly at his intense gaze

He smirked "Is Haley James blushing?" He teased and laughed when she hid her face behind her hands

He pulled her hands out of her face and brushed his palm against her flushed cheek

"You make me blush" She said smiling shyly

"I love making you blush" He said smiling back at her

"Ok I'm starving" She said before quickly popping off the bed

"Do you think Lucas and Brooke are still sleeping?" Nathan asked making his way towards his bathroom to brush his teeth

"I don't know why?" She asked looking at him in the mirror

"Just like that… do you want to go to Karen's for breakfast?" He asked after splashing all the water in his mouth in the sink

"Sure"

---------------

"Haley, were did you sleep?" Brooke asked when Nathan and Haley came in the café

"She slept at my house Brooke" Nathan said before Haley could reply

"But… she wasn't there this morning… Oh oh my, would you excuse us for a sec" Brooke said smiling broadly taking Haley by the arm and dragging her outside

"You totally had sex with him" She stated excitedly

Haley rolled her eyes "One would you be quiet, and two no we didn't sleep together"

"Haley don't bullshit me" Brooke said rolling her eyes

"We didn't sleep together Brooke" Haley said growing impatient

"But you kissed didn't you?" Brooke asked knowingly

A slight blush crept on Haley's face which was Brooke's confirmation

"I knew it!!!" Brooke squealed

"So are you too like… an item?"

"I think so"

"What do you mean you think so?" She asked confused

"We were drunk, and I told him I loved him and then he told me he loved me too but we were drunk and…" She rambled

"Haley, when two people say I love you, they mean it even if their drunk… It's not something a drunken person would say if they just wanted to have sex you know" Brooke said knowingly

"Yeah I guess…"

"Oh my god Haley this is so awesome! Everybody said that you two would end up together" Brooke said as they were making their way back inside the café

"What took you guys so long?" Lucas asked from his spot on in the booth

"Ohh Luke you soo owe me fifty bucks" Brooke squealed excitedly before rolling her eyes at Lucas's confusion

"You know, the bet we made at a party once… about Haley and Nathan hooking up" She clarified and chuckled at Haley's obvious discomfort

"Brooke!" Nathan warned

"Oh come on Nathan you were so predictable"

"Wait a minute, you guys are dating?" Lucas asked still in utter confusion

Haley looked at Nathan before nodding shyly

"Damn… I've just wasted fifty bucks" He said as the three others rolled their eyes

--------------

"Haley I think we should talk" Nathan said when they got in front of her house

"Yeah um… do you want to come in?"

"Well maybe your parents would like to spend time with you… I don't know"

"No it's okay, they would be really happy to see you"

"Ok"

"Mom, dad?" Haley said as she entered the James house

"In the kitchen Haley" Lydia shouted

"Nathan" Lydia beamed when she saw the tall handsome boy strolling behind her daughter in the kitchen

"Hi Mrs. James" Nathan said smiling going over to give her a hug

"You get taller every time I see you" She said after pulling back from their hug

"I eat all my vegetables" he said playfully

"I bet you do, so Haley where did you sleep last night?"

"Oh I slept at Nathan's" She said simply

"But you told me you were sleeping at Brooke's" Lydia inquired

"Brooke decided to sleep there too"

"Oh, ok… anyway I have to go grocery shopping, it was nice seeing you again Nathan" She said before walking out

"You too Mrs. James"

"Do you want to go in my room?" Haley asked awkwardly. He always went in her room since they were kids, but something was different she was a little nervous now

"Yeah ok" He said

When they got to her room, Haley closed the door and they both sat on her bed

"So…" They both said at the same time chuckling after

"Haley, I really meant what I told you last night… that I love you… I- this morning you seemed a little distant and-"

"I know I'm sorry, it's just… it I was drunk and I don't even remember how drunk you were… I just got scared that maybe you wanted to take back everything that's happened yesterday"

"But I meant what I said too" She said and smiled when she saw a smile grow on his handsome features

"I love you Nathan" She said softly, almost shyly… as if it were the first time she would say it

"I love you" He said inching closer to her face and kissing her softly

When he attempted to pull back, she pulled him closer and thrust her tongue in his mouth making him groan. He pulled them both down on the bed and climbed on top of her without breaking their kiss. He tore his mouth from hers and traced a path with it from her cheek to her neck, and came back up to meet her lips again in a hot, passionate kiss.

When the need for air became an issue, she pulled back and rested her forehead against his looking deeply into his dark, blue almost black eyes.

"Nathan…" She said breathlessly

He couldn't keep his eyes off her beautiful kiss-swollen lips, he had wanted so much to taste them, feel them, and now he could have that whenever he wanted it

"Yeah?" He asked after a few seconds

She pecked his lips "I love you"

"Haley, I want you" He said in a deep husky voice

She brought her hand in the back of his head to hold him against her lips, as they lost themselves again in a series of kisses

After several minutes, they pulled back completely from each other

"I should go" Nathan said moving in a sitting position

"Why?" She asked the disappointment evident in her voice

"Hales, I don't want to go believe me, but you should really spend some time with your parents tonight, they just came back yesterday" He said caressing her cheek with his calloused hand

"I know, but I don't want you to leave" She said with a little pout

He smiled at her "Tell you what, spend the rest of the day with your parents and later call me and we'll do something ok?"

She contemplated the idea for a few seconds before replying "Ookay"

"Ok" He grinned

---------------

The next few days got better and better for Nathan and Haley, the awkwardness of their new relationship had disappeared and at school, they were the gossip of the week.

"Hey" Nathan said from behind Haley who was putting some books away in her locker

"Oh, hey" She said as she turned around to see him

"Are you ok?" Nathan asked when he saw she wasn't acting her usual self

"Yeah why?"

"You seem… sad?" He asked trying to figure out what feeling she was showing off

"I'm fine" She said smiling slightly

"Haley?" Nathan prodded

"It's just… I heard Rachel say something during PE and… it doesn't matter, never mind" She brushed off as she closed her locker door

"Haley what did she say?" Nathan asked his eyes narrowing

She hesitated before answering "She said that I was not your type of girl… and you're with me only too change people's perception of you… I know it's stupid…"

"Hales… I love you; I know I haven't always been the relationship kind of guy, but with you its, its different. You know that right?" He asked bringing his hand to cup her cheek

She looked at him in the eyes and knew that he was sincere. She smiled and nodded "I know"

He smiled and bent down to kiss her briefly on the lips "Do you have cheer practice?"

She groaned, Brooke had practically forced Haley to be a cheerleader since one spot was available and it wasn't really her thing but she didn't want to deal with a mad Brooke so she just went with it "Yeah…" She whined

He laughed and pulled her into his arms where she rested her head on his chest

"You have practice too right?" She asked he voice muffled because of her face buried in his chest

"Yeah, I'll be watching you dance" He said making her smile

"Oh god no, I'm so bad at this! I can't believe Brooke actually wants me in her squad"

"Hales, you've got moves" He said and she lifted her head to pop a kiss on his lips

"You're really sweet… but you've got to get to practice before Whitey gets mad" She said before leaving towards the girls' locker room

--------------

By the end of practice, Haley was waiting for Nathan outside.

"Hey Haley" Marcus said from behind her which made her jump in surprise

"Oh, Marcus, you scared me" She said clutching her hand to her chest

He chuckled "Sorry. What are you doing here?"

"I'm waiting for Nathan, have you seen him inside?"

"Actually he left before most of the guys Jake and I were the only ones left, maybe he went to his locker though."

"Yeah, I'll wait 5 more minutes and then I'll go try to find him" She said walking towards a bench to sit

"Can I join you?" Marcus asked motioning the bench

"Sure" She said smiling

---------------

During the whole practice, his mind always drifted to what Rachel told Haley and the more he thought about the more he was angry. As he left the showers, he saw the devil herself walking out of the girl's lockers

"Hey Nathan" She said pasting a sugary smile on her face

His jaw clenched she's such a hypocrite "Rachel" he said through gritted teeth

She caught up with him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders which he immediately pushed away

"What the fuck do you want Rachel?" He let out harshly

"Oh Nathan you seem a little tense, is everything ok?" She asked with mock-concern

"As a matter of fact no, everything is not ok, thanks to you" He shouted through the empty halls

"What are you talking about?" She asked keeping her voice sugary and calm

"You're a bitch"

She laughed

"You better quit saying all that shit about me using Haley, because you know how much she means to me" He said with an icy voice

"Nathan…" She started

"I don't even want to hear your voice right now so save it" He said as he walked away

----------------

As he made his way outside, he figured Haley had probably left already, but when he heard her laughter he turned around to see her sitting on a bench talking with Marcus.

"Hey" Nathan said putting his hands on Haley's shoulders from behind the bench

She turned her head to see the sexiest guy alive "Hey" She replied and smiled when he lent down to kiss her sweetly before acknowledging Marcus

"Hey man" He said bumping fists with the other guy

"Hey, umm… I'll see you guys later" He said and left

Nathan and Haley made their way towards his black escalade hand in hand

"So what took you so long?" Haley asked as she settled down in the car

"Oh, I just had something I had to do" He replied vaguely leaving her perplex

"Anyway, there's something I've been dying to do all day" he said in a low voice

"What?"

He leaned in his face mere inches away from hers and took in her beautiful, graceful features

"What are you doing" She whispered

He was so close to her face that he could feel her hot breath against his skin as she talked

"Looking at you, does it bother you?" He asked in a smug voice

"Yes, I want you to kiss me" She said her face burning as a deep blush appeared on her face

"You do huh?" He teased and chuckled when she pouted

"No teasing" She warned and smiled when he closed the gap between them and kissed her passionately tracing her lips with his tongue, demanding entrance to which she complied instantly. When breathing became necessary, he tore his mouth from hers only to place open mouthed kissed along her cheeks, jaw and neck before coming back up to her lips. His hands came up to hold her face, as hers played with the hair at the nape of his neck.

"Nathan…" She said breathlessly "Nathan"

"What?" He asked not tiring his mouth from her peachy skin

Her brain turned into a pile of mush as his hands roamed gently around her breasts, leaving all coherent thoughts disabled from her brain.

"I want you" He said huskily

"Me too" She replied against his lips

"Let's go to my house, my parents are out to dinner…"

"What about Lucas?" She asked as she tried to fix her shirt

"He's at Brooke's" He replied waiting for her to agree

"Ok" She said smiling and he returned her smile as they drove away

-------------

As they arrived at Nathan's house the lights inside were open which meant that they weren't alone

"What the fuck!?" Nathan muttered

"Maybe they just forgot to close the lights" Haley said trying to be optimistic

They quickly made their way inside to be met with four other teenagers

"What the fuck are they all doing here?" Nathan mumbled in Haley's ear

She shrugged

"Hey Nate" Lucas said when he heard them come in

"Hey, uhh what are you doing?" Nathan asked trying to be nice

"Ummm… what do you mean?" He asked confused

"You were supposed to be at Brooke's, and instead you're here, with Peyton and Jake"

"Brooke said she had some important news to tell us" Lucas said clueless

"Whatever… come on Hales" He said holding out his hand for her to take

Haley looked at Lucas, then at Nathan "Nathan… we could hang out here" She said smiling

He narrowed his eyes 'What the hell is she doing?' "Haley…"

"Lucas, we'll come in a few minutes" Haley said and Lucas nodded and left

"Haley you're not serious?" Nathan asked incuriously

"Come on Nathan, Brooke has something to tell us, it probably won't take long… we'll continue what we were doing later" She said the last part with a wink

He smiled slightly and agreed "ok"

"Hey guys" Haley cheered as she and Nathan sat a the table outside where their four other friends were

"Damn Nate, what's wrong?" Jake said as he took in Nathan's mood

He shrugged as Brooke and Haley rolled their eyes

"He didn't want to see us here" Brooke said making Nathan roll his eyes at her directness

"Ok Brooke are you ever going to tell us the big news?" Peyton asked curiously

Brooke nodded, took a deep breath "I got into the fashion show and I'm going to spend the summer in New York" She said waiting eagerly for a reaction from her friends, especially Lucas

"Brooke that's freaking awesome" Peyton squealed and hugged Brooke happily

"Yeah…" Lucas said and got up rapidly walking out

"I'll go Jake said" and got up to get him

"There's something else" Brooke said

"What is it?" Haley asked worriedly as she took in Brooke's sad expression

"They said I could bring somebody with me, you know to help me and to keep me company since I'll be far from home and all… so Haley do you want to come with me?" She asked taking all three by surprise and then looked at Peyton and added "I know you and Jake planned on going to Savannah…" She said and Peyton nodded

"Yeah Brooke that's totally fine" She said sincerely

"Look Hales, think about it ok?" Brooke said and Haley nodded

"I think I'll go check on Lucas" Brooke said and shot a look at Peyton telling her to come with her

"Umm yeah I'll go find Jake" Peyton said as they both left Nathan and Haley

"So… are you going to go?" Nathan asked

Haley could see his face stiffen "I don't know Nathan, but please don't be mad" She said softly

"I'm not" He said looking away

"Nathan… you are"

"Look Haley, you do whatever you want but summer's almost here and then its college, we both know that if you go to New York we're done" He said looking back at her

"Don't say that" She pleaded

"It's the truth Haley" He said and went back inside the house

"Damn it" Haley cursed

She had never gone to New York, and that opportunity Brooke was giving her was gold, who would give up the chance to actually spend an entire summer with one of her best friends in the Big Apple?… but on the other hand there was Nathan, she didn't want to leave him all summer _'What the hell am I suppose to do now?'_

**Hope you liked it!!! Anyway as usual please review that's what makes me keep on writing!!**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Hello everyone. You guys don't know how sorry I am that I haven't updated for so long, I've been sooo busy but things have calmed down so hopefully I'll be able to update more often. Anyways I apologize again for the indefinitely long wait. Here is chapter 8.**

"_If you go to New York, we're done"_

Those words kept screaming back at her and she didn't know whether she should be mad at him for giving her an ultimatum, or if she should understand that it has to be one or the other, that she can't have both.

After Brooke had dropped the question, the mood kind of got killed, Nathan was pissed, Haley was flabbergasted, Brooke was… well she had to deal with Lucas, so Jake and Peyton left. Not long after Haley claimed she was tired and left the Scott house too.

As soon as she got home, she snuggled in her big bed. Even if she knew she would never get some sleep. She thought about New York and Nathan, and the more she thought about it, the more she was confused.

In two months, high school was over and the summer Haley was so anxiously waiting for was now her biggest fear. She had it all planned out, she would spend summer with Nathan, and then they would go off to college. Nathan had received a scholarship to play basket-ball at Duke, and Haley had applied to Stanford and Duke, and had been accepted to both. She hadn't told Nathan yet that she got accepted to Duke because she was afraid of getting him scared. This new relationship they had was new to her and she wasn't all that confident with it yet even though Nathan assured her that he loved her. She knew that he did, she just thought that maybe he'd meet new people at college and realize that she's just a normal girl, that she's just boring Haley James

A knock on her door shook her out of her thoughts

"Come in"

The door opened slowly to reveal her mom peeking her head inside the room

"Are you ok?" Lydia asked as she sat next to Haley on her bed

Haley shrugged

"Ok, what's wrong?" The woman asked knowingly

"Mom… please I don't really want to talk about it right now" She said with a stubborn look in her eyes

"Bub, come on talk to me" Lydia prodded and placed a comforting hand on her daughter's back

Finally, after a few moments Haley nodded "Brooke wants me to go to New York with her in the summer" She said and looked at her mom for some reaction

"That's great Haley… oh is that why you are sad, did you think we wouldn't let you go?" Lydia asked concern in her eyes

"You know Haley, your father and I are very proud of you and we wouldn't have any reason not to let you go with Brooke"

Haley shook her head "No mom, that's not it" She said as she continued to shake her head

"Then what is it?" Lydia asked confused

"Nathan" Haley said tears forming in her eyes

"Nathan?... What?" Lydia asked growing more confused

"Mom, Nathan and I… umm… well we" She said not knowing exactly how to say it

"Oh honey, you and Nathan are dating? Haley you didn't have to tell me, it was obvious from the beginning that you two were going to end up together" She said smiling

But when Haley's tears splashed on her cheeks, Lydia's smiling face grew serious and concerned again

"Ok, so what's the problem with Nathan?"

"Summer's almost here mom, and then we're off to college… If I go to New York with Brooke Nathan and I are done" She explained through tears

"Oh Bub, don't say that, if you truly love each other, you'll always find your way back together no matter the distance or the circumstances" Lydia said tears springing in her eyes as well

"Well, Nathan doesn't seem to think that" She said bitterly

"What?"

"He said that if I go to New York, we're done"

"He didn't mean that" Lydia said softly rubbing her daughter's back

"I'm pretty sure he did" Haley said leaning on her mother's shoulder

"Haley, when someone you love is talking about leaving you, it hurts, it hurts a lot"

"Nathan, I don't know him like you do, but I know he was never the love type, he was more of the non exclusive type of guy, that's because he was afraid of falling in love, talk to him Haley, that's the only way you're going to feel better"

"Ok" Haley said to her mom who gave her a warm hug before leaving the room

She got up and passed a brush in her hair quickly, attempted to hide her tearstained cheeks by splashing water on her face, but with no luck, her eyes were still puffy. She put on a rich blue velour juicy tracksuit and a pair of silver flip flops before walking to Nathan's house

The night air was chilly yet warm as she walked through the streets of Tree Hill. When she arrived at Nathan's she almost turned back, but her finger was faster than her mind and she could hear the doorbell ring from outside and grew nervous when she saw a shadow come towards the door

"Hales…" Nathan said softly when he saw her stand there, he noticed right away that she had been crying and he knew it was his fault

The way he said her name, full of love, made her want to cry again

"Haley don't cry, come in" He said motioning for her to enter the house which she did as he closed the door behind her

He came up in front of her and took her in a hug "I'm sorry" He whispered as he kissed the top of her head

"Nathan…" She started to say

He took her hand and led her upstairs to his bedroom where he directed her on his bed and sat next to her

"I got accepted to Duke" She blurted out after several moments of silence

"What?" Nathan asked surprised

Haley nodded "I applied there, and I got accepted"

Nathan was confused "When did you get your acceptance letter?"

"A month ago"

"A month ago… you didn't tell me" He said his forehead crinkling in confusion

"I know…"

"Why?" He asked looking at her with questioning eyes

"I don't know" She said looking away from his intense gaze

"What are you going to do?" He asked his voice low

"I want to go with you" She said her eyes searching his for any reaction

"What about Stanford?" Nathan asked softly

"Duke's an amazing school, and I want to be with you" She said smiling mildly

"But Stanford's always been your dream school" He tried to reason

"I know… I just… if you don't want me to go there its fine I'd understand"

"Haley no, I'd be so happy if you came to Duke with me, but I thought Stanford was what you wanted, I don't want you sacrificing what you want because of me"

"Then let me come to Duke with you, because that's what I want" She said with a convinced voice

He smiled and bent down to kiss her "I love you" He whispered

"Are you going to go to New York this summer?" He asked when they pulled back

She looked away and then back at him "I really want to go Nathan, but I want you to know that I don't want us to be over, I know we can make it work it out, I love you" She said softly

His face stiffened

"Plus it's only two months, and then we're going to college, together" She said the last part with a smile hoping to make him smile too

He didn't talk "Nathan… say something" She said with a sigh

"What do you want me to say Haley?" He said his voice icy

"Say that you're happy for me, that you'll wait for me" She said softly

He sighed as he passed a tired hand through his raven colored hair

"I am" He said mechanically

She shook her head sadly

"Come with me" Haley said her voice hopeful

"What am I going to do in New York?"

"Be with me" She said her voice laced with pain

"Haley, go with Brooke, I'm not mad I promise" He said but his expression betrayed his words

"I know you're not happy though" She said looking at him

"Honestly, no I'm not happy, can you blame me? But look Haley, you've made your choice and I respect it, it's not like you're leaving forever" He said trying to sound unaffected

"I'm not, but why don't you want to come with me?" She asked a little hurt

"Hales, you're going to be busy helping Brooke… It's pointless for me to go, plus Whitey asked me to coach basket-ball to little kids this summer"

"Really? Why didn't you tell me?" Haley asked surprised

He shrugged "I wasn't going to take it, but now that you're going with Brooke I might as well" He said logically

"Yeah…" Haley said uncertain as they fell into their own thoughts

After minutes of silence, she spoke softly "We're going to be fine right?"

He just looked at her, his eyes filled with fear and hope

--------------

"Brookeee!?" Haley shouted as she came inside Brooke's house

"In my room!" Brooke replied from upstairs

Haley made her way upstairs inside Brooke's room and plopped on her large bed

"What's up?" Brooke asked coming out of her adjacent bathroom

"I'm going to New York with you!" Haley said excitedly

Brooke's eyes opened wide "Are you serious?" She squealed

"Yeah!!" Haley said and got up to hug her ecstatic friend

"Oh, my god Hales, we're going to have so much fun… we'll be working on the fashion show but it's going to be so fun" She said her eyes sparkling with anticipation

"I'm sure it will" Haley said and laughed at Brooke's happiness

"Wait… how did Nathan take it?" Brooke asked when all her thoughts came back to her

Haley's smile faded softly "He's not too happy, but Whitey offered him a job a while ago and he wasn't going to take it, but I think he will now since I'm not going to be there"

"Hales, two months is not that long, I know you can make it work" The brunette said reassuringly

"I know" She said and smiled

"Anyway, I was thinking maybe we could go shopping for our prom dresses?" Brooke asked changing topic knowing that's what Haley wanted

"Yeah, sounds like a good idea, I can't believe high school's almost over" Haley said as all the memories came back to her

"Yeah, these times are probably going to be the best of our lives…" Brooke said smiling at all the memories

"Ok, let's go shopping" Haley said and they both left Brooke's house

"So she decided to go?" Lucas asked after taking a long swig of his water bottle

"Yeah… she came by yesterday night to tell me" Nathan said catching his breath

The boys had decided to go for a run as their better halves were shopping

"Yeah… look I know things with you and Haley are fresh and that you wanted to spend the summer together… god knows I wanted to spend it with Brooke too but look if you're meant to be, time isn't going to change the way you feel and you'll end up together" Lucas said as they walked to catch their breath

Nathan just shrugged and started running again

Lucas shook his head and caught up with his brother. He was in love.

Haley was taking a walk into the warm streets of Tree Hill smiling slightly at the summer smell. A few days had passed by since she told Nathan she would go to New York, but they barely talked during these few days, Haley would call him but he always told her he had something to do. She'd been bothered about Nathan's behavior but didn't want to start that conversation with him even thought she knew had to, she just didn't want to fight, so she let the days go by until she decided she had had enough of this; whatever was going on, which led her here, walking to Nathan's house.

As close as she approached the rich mansion her heart beat faster and faster. When she finally arrived she rang the doorbell tapping her feet nervously on the carpet in front of the door. She rang again when nobody answered. Great he's not home. She was on her way back when she heard his voice coming from his backyard so she made her way quietly inside the yard. He was lying on a pool chair wet from a night swim talking on his cell phone.

She cleared her throat forcefully to make her presence known when he didn't see her. He tilted his head to the side and his face stiffened as he saw her. Hurt crossed her features before being replaced quickly by a fake smile. He quickly ended his call telling the person he'd call him back later.

"Hi" She said uncomfortably

"Hi" he replied his eyes boring into hers

"Umm… I guess I just…we need to talk?!" She said her voice uncertain

He nodded toring his gaze from hers to look at his towel

She past in front of him to sit on the chair next to his

"Nathan we have to stop this… whatever this is" She said with a sigh

"Yeah… look Haley, I'm sorry for the way I've acted the past couple of days. I just… you know me I have times when I close off and-"

"You've always been able to open up to me, to talk to me, why'd you stop?" She asked her eyes almost pleading for an answer

"I don't know, Haley, it's not about you" He said sighing and passing a hand through his wet hair

"Nathan please talk to me" She said her voice trembling

He looked away and then back at her his face softened. He took her hand and pulled her up to sit on his chair next to him

"You know I love you right?" He asked vulnerably

She nodded

"I know I wasn't very supportive of you when you decided to go to New York and I feel bad because it was my role to encourage you, but I want you to know that I'm happy for you Hales, and I want you to go and have fun without having to feel bad because you didn't stay here" He said and paused to see her reaction

"I know Nathan, I know you're happy for me" She said with a smile

"I think we should focus on our summer, and see what happens afterwards" he said looking warily at her

Her previous smile was replaced by confusion "What do you mean?" She managed to choke out

"I just think it would be better for both of us to go back to being friends… at least for now" He said softly

As much as she didn't want to break down in front of him she couldn't contain her tears anymore as they streamed quietly down her face while she was crying silently. That moment was the moment Nathan felt the lowest in his entire life.

"Haley, I don't want to hurt you" He said ever so softly. He brought his hand on her arm but removed it quickly when se flinched at his touch

She looked into his eyes searching for something but they were clouded with guilt and regret and maybe even pity. She was angry with him but to see that he felt pity for her made her even angrier. She jumped off the chair and ran out of there without looking back.

Nathan had been her best friend for almost her entire life, he knew her just like she knew him. He was always there at her side when things got bad as well as when they were good, but after that night he wasn't the one to comfort her, she knew she couldn't live without him in her life but she didn't know if he could be what he used to be, for now at least. She had to find comfort in herself, she had to trust and love herself just like Nathan did him. And with that thought she was ready to finish high school, go to New York for the summer where she could find herself and start a whole new chapter to her life.

**Well, you know what to do now… let me know what you think!!! You might have noticed that I don't have a reliable timeline to this story just like Mark ****hehe: D So I just want to clarify a few things: as of right now, there is about 2 weeks left before summer, before Haley and Brooke go to New York. Also remember that Nathan and Haley are supposed to go to Duke together when Haley comes back at the end of the summer. Also Nathan will coach basketball to kids during the summer. For people who like spoilers: For the chapters to come, the story will jump from now to the end of the summer when Brooke and Haley come back to Tree Hill; I will add flashbacks of the summer so that everything's not too confusing. Anyway I'll be posting the next chapter shortly!! Have a great summer. xoxox**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Hey everyone, I am back with a brand new chapter.**

**WARNING****: This chapter is rated M for sexual content, so if you are easily offended by this topic, I suggest you don't read. **

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 9 **

"Haley-Bub I'm so happy to see you baby" Lydia James exclaimed as her daughter opened the front door

"You too mom, it's good to be home" She said dropping her bags on the floor to hug her mom

"Where's dad?"

"Oh he just went to the grocery store he'll be back soon" Lydia answered pulling back from the hug

"So, how was New York?"

"It was fun" Haley said with a smile

"Good, well you look tired, go and get some rest before dinner, we'll talk about your trip later, when everyone's here" The woman ordered her daughter motioning the stairs

"Who is everyone?"

"Well, since it's your birthday tomorrow, your father and I thought we should host you a little party and today seemed like the perfect time since it's your first day back, and Taylor is in town until tomorrow." Lydia said with a bright smile

"Wow, Mom, you shouldn't have" Haley said managing to paste a smile on her face, she didn't feel like having a party, not today

"Anything for my baby" Her mom said playfully

"Now go get some rest" She said pushing her towards the stairs

"Ok" Haley said before taking her bags from the floor and climbing the stairs to her room

As she opened the door, she put her bags on the floor next to her bed and let herself fall onto her bed.

_There she was, in the one and only Big Apple, with her best friend and no parents. How __can a summer be more perfect than that, she asked herself silently even though she felt everything wasn't as perfect as it should be. She hadn't talked to Nathan much since that night in his backyard. They would exchange a few words at school but nothing more and it saddened her because she missed him. The days went by and high school was over. She wanted to call him the day before she left but she decided against it after asking herself what she was going to say. He knew when she was leaving so if he wanted to talk to her he should have been the one to call. With this thought Haley left town for two months._

"_Hales?" Brooke bouncy voice echoed through Haley's head and she snapped out of her thoughts_

"_Yeah" She said after a few moments_

"_I can't believe we get to live in here for two freaking months" Brooke squealed as she clapped her hands excitedly _

"_Brooke, this apartment is amazing, I'm so happy you asked me to come" Haley said sincerely as she followed her very excited friend further inside the giant apartment_

_Brooke turned around to face her friend "I wouldn't have chosen anybody else" She said hugging Haley tightly_

"_I know things with you and Nathan are not too good right now and I know part of it is because I asked you to come with me so telling me that you're happy to be here means a lot to me" Brooke said in a more sober attitude_

"_Brooke, none of it is your fault" Haley said smiling faintly_

"_Have you talked?" Brooke asked softly indicating that she didn't have to answer if she didn't feel like it_

"_No" Was the soft reply she gave_

"_I'm sorry" Brooke said with a sympathetic voice_

"_it's ok, Brooke, I mean it's done, we're in New York, on our own may I add so I won't spend my summer sulking especially over a guy" Haley said her voice full of conviction_

_Brooke smiled at that "That's the spirit TutorGirl"_

_The first week was really quiet; Brooke was working all day at Teen Vogue while Haley was resting in their very luxurious apartment downtown going outside once in a while. When Brooke came back at night, Haley would help her sew her designs and afterwards they usually went out in the hottest nightclubs at Brooke's insistance_

_Haley had just gotten up from sleep when her cell phone started to ring. She reached at her nightstand to pick it up_

"_Hello" She asked with a sleepy voice_

"_Haley?" and just like that she didn't feel sleepy anymore. Well on second thought maybe she was just dreaming _

"_Yeah" She said hesitantly_

"_It's Nathan" _

"_Yeah, I know" She said and released an uncomfortable sigh as an awkward silence took place _

"_So how's New York?" He asked obviously trying to ease off the tension_

"_It's ok, I guess" She replied thankful that he had taken the initiative to talk first_

"_Look, I'm sorry I haven't called you before you left, I just thought you didn't want to see me…" _

"_Nathan it's ok, it's not like I expected you to call either" She said a little more harshly than intended _

"_I know we have been distant and I know I'm to blame for that, but I don't want us to be like this" He said releasing a frustrated sigh_

"_It's ok" She said trying to sound unaffected_

"_No, no it's not ok! Damn it Haley you're my best friend, you always have been. I need you in my life and I'm pretty sure you need me too" He said almost pleadingly_

"_Don't think so highly of yourself Nathan" She spat bitterly_

"_Haley, I didn't mean it like that, I just meant… Look I just want us to go back to being able to talk to each other about everything"_

"_I don't know if I can do that…" She said with an unsteady voice _

"_Why?" He asked desperately_

"_Nathan, I… God you don't get to call me like that and expect us to mend our friendship after two months of pretending nothing ever happened, you don't know how I felt during those two months, not hanging out with my best friend, graduating with all my friends except the most important one in my life, you don't know how hard it was for me…" She said feeling the tears welling up in her eyes, and their effect on her voice_

"_I'm so sorry Haley; you know I don't want to hurt you" _

"_Whatever, Nathan, I think we should do our thing for a while, because I'm not ready yet to whatever it is you want us to be" She said after regaining her composure _

"_Ok, you can call me… if you want to talk" he said uncertain_

"_Bye" Haley said in a whisper_

"_Bye" He said with a breathy voice_

_This was the last time they spoke, Nathan called her a couple of times, but she made sure to check the ID before answering and ignored his calls. He never left voicemails, so she figured she shouldn't bother to call back._

"Little sis!!"

Haley stirred from her sleep at the sound of her sister, Hurricane Taylor, as she called her

"Tay!" She said lifting herself so she could sit on the bed

Taylor sat next to Haley on the bed and hugged her

"How are you?" Taylor asked after pulling back

"Good, you?"

"Awesome" She said giddy

"You got laid" Haley stated at her sister's unusual giddy behavior

"What gave me away?" Taylor asked playfully

Haley just rolled her eyes

"So who's the lucky guy… or girl" Haley said giggling at her own joke

"Guy. and he's a model. I actually brought him along; he's chatting with dad downstairs"

"Wow, he must be special if you bring him into your crazy family" Teased Haley

Taylor was quite the manwhore but she never brought her hook-ups home so maybe, just maybe she had finally settled down

"Whatever, mom said to take a shower and come down" Taylor said before bouncing out the door

Haley reluctantly got out of bed and dragged her feet to her adjacent bathroom turning on the shower

"Haley there you are" Jimmy James said loudly

"Hi daddy, I've missed you" Haley said launching herself in her dad's arms

"You too Bub" He said kissing her cheek after pulling out of their embrace

Haley took a minute scan the house as many guests talked animatedly

"You guys invited a lot of people" She said her eyes back to her father

"You're eighteen Hales, we got to celebrate" He said with a happy grin

She nodded "Thanks"

"You're very welcome honey, now go have fun"

Her night was going surprisingly well; she enjoyed being back home with all the people she loved. She made her way outside the house where she hoped it would be less noisy. Everybody was drinking and laughing and she just felt like this wasn't her party, but she couldn't complain, her parents had done this for her and she was grateful

"Hey"

She spun around quickly her hair crashing into her face as she did so and she clutch her hand to her chest

"God" She said her breathing which had increased returning to normal

"Sorry" He said making his way closer to her so he could see her clearly considering the darkness of the night

She turned around so that her back faced him

"You look good" He stated as he came next to her and saw her face closely

"Thanks" She said stealing a glance his way

"So, how have you been?" He asked shoving his hands deep in his pockets

"Ok" was her short answer

Nathan ran a hand impatiently through his hair at her lack of conversation

"Haley why are you acting like that?" He asked trying his best to keep his temper in check

She looked at him before answering "Like what?"

He rolled his eyes knowing she knew exactly like what "Like you don't want to talk to me" He filled in

"Because I don't" She said and looked back at what she was looking previously

"Bullshit, Haley!" He exclaimed his temper rising and his hands flying from his pockets

"What?" She spat back

"I apologized, I called you and you never answered, I-"

"You called twice" She pointed out

"Yeah, then I stopped because I knew you weren't going to answer" He replied his voice raising

Good thing they were the only ones outside she thought to herself, she didn't need everybody witnessing their little argument

"Whatever" She said and as she started to walk away, before Nathan pulled her arm towards him

"What do-" She was cut off by his lips, his soft lips crashing upon hers nibbling at her bottom lip flicking his tongue on it, asking for entrance. She opened her lips slightly long enough for him to slip his tongue inside her mouth, the kiss was rough, and sudden, after a few moments of stillness her hands came up to wrap around his neck as his own wrapped tightly around her small body. They pulled back their breathing erratic; he opened his eyes to see her perfect face, her perfect lipstick smudged all over her mouth.

Just as she regained control of her breathing, she pulled his face down and plunged her tongue in his mouth again without notice and kissed him as hard as she could

"Let's get out of here" He said between kisses

She only nodded and he took her hand leading her to his car. As soon as they got to the beach house, they barely made it inside the house, their kisses growing hotter by the second after struggling to open the door he picked her up and she automatically linked her legs around his waist. He carried her upstairs while she was placing wet open-mouthed kisses all over his face and neck

He laid her on the large bed and climbed on top of her kissing a path from her plump lips to her neck, sucking hard on the smooth skin before traveling lower where he reached the valley of her breasts licking and kissing it. Her hands found themselves in his soft raven hair holding him in place as she buried her head in the pillow. He pulled at her altar top and in like a magnet his mouth found her left nipple inside grazing his teeth on it as he massaged her right mound and pressed her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. She buried her head further into the pillow moaning softly at his ministrations

"Please…" she cried

Nathan lifted his face to meet her eyes "What baby? What do you want?" He asked huskily

"Please… Nathan… I need you inside me. Now." She begged

He popped open the zipper of her seven jeans and she raised her hips to help him take them off her, he pulled them off quickly removing her pink panties at the same time, he pulled off his own sweatshirt and pants while she pulled her top up and over her head before throwing it on the floor. His hand reached to her hot center and she grabbed his head crashing her lips on his pushing her tongue inside his mouth eager to massage his while he stroked her eagerly

"Baby… you're so wet" He said looking into her lustful eyes

He slipped a finger inside her, loving the feel of her warmth around his finger looking at her to see her reaction. She arched her back and shut her eyes tucking her bottom lip in her teeth

"Look at me" He ordered and she opened her eyes as he slipped a second finger inside her

He removed his finger when he sensed her coming and came up her body placing himself at her entrance lowering his head to be mere inches away from her face "Nathan, now" She said and in one thrust he slipped his hard length inside her velvety folds kissing her at the same time, their tongues mimicking what their lower bodies were doing. He slipped his hand between their hot body bringing his thumb to rub her clit, it was her undoing and she screamed inside his mouth the sensation too much and too intense, she raked her fingernails on his back and linked her legs above his ass as she chanted his names over and over and he came inside her as he collapsed on top of her small body

After collecting their breathings he rolled off of her and groaned at the loss of her warmth surrounding his shaft

"I have to go back to the party" She said wrapping herself in the white cotton sheets

"Yeah… umm I'm jut going to take a quick shower, you should go downstairs and take one too" He said as he pulled his boxers on and headed for his adjacent bathroom

She nodded and exited the room

She turned on the water and waited until the temperature was perfect to get inside. What had gone into her, she didn't know but she needed to be with him and when he kissed her, so hungrily, she couldn't keep herself from kissing him back. She knew what they did wasn't right but it wasn't wrong either; she was just so messed up right now. First he breaks up with her saying they should be friends and now they just had sex which he initiated, kind of… she didn't know anymore. She turned off the water and got out of the shower and into the foggy bathroom quickly wrapping herself in a nearby towel. She cursed when she realized she forgot to bring her clothes with her.

She made her way upstairs and entered Nathan's room

"I forgot to bring my clothes" She said feeling the need to explain why she was in his room with nothing other than a small towel covering her body

He also just had a towel wrapped loosely around his waist. He turned to look at her and mumbled something before heading back to the bathroom to get dressed

"Are you ready to go?" He asked when they were both dressed

"Yeah, let's go" She said, grabbing her purse

The car ride was made in complete silence, the only noises being the shifting Haley made in her seat, before she broke the silence

"Nathan, I wanted this as much as you did" She said knowingly. She knew by the way she acted before and after they had sex that he felt bad, that he thought he had pushed her

He looked at her for a brief moment before refocusing his gaze on the road

"Thanks" He said after a few moments

Haley was hoping that the party would be over when she came back, but as Nathan pulled up in her driveway, the sounds of music and laughter hinted that the party was still on. He turned off the engine and instead of getting out they both stayed in their seats wanting to say something but not knowing what.

"Do you want hang out sometime?" He asked obviously anxious to hear her answer

She didn't know at that point what she wanted "Call me" She finally said before opening the door

Before they could enter the house he called her "Haley"

She altered her steps and turned to face him "its past midnight… happy birthday"

She smiled "Thank you"

They slipped back inside discreetly nobody noticing they had ever left.

**What'd you think? Reviews make me happy and a happy me ****is more motivated to write. So leave a few words. Thanks. -xoxox **


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi people, I know I'm a really horrible person… and I really wish I had a good excuse as to why it took me forever to update, but I don't. I do have an apology and a new chapter though, so hopefully you'll forgive me!!!**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 10**

"Hello" Haley said excitedly as she flipped her cell phone open

"Hey"

"Oh Nathan, hey" She said her voice calmer

"Umm, what are you doing?" He asked obvious at the change of mood in her voice

"Nothing really, you?"

"Well I was wondering if you still wanted to hang out." He said trying not too sound too hopeful

"Uh… yeah sure" She said with a little hesitance

He sensed her hesitate but decided to not say anything about it "What about a movie tonight?" He asked with a smile

She smiled on the other end "It's a date" She replied before she could think of her words and mentally curse herself for her choice of words

"No, I mean… not a date _date_ you know… not that I don't want a date it's just, well I meant a friendly date like-" She rambled all her words coming out at the same time

"Haley"

"-just as friends…"

"Haley stop! I get it" He assured her chuckling at the thought of how red her skin must be

"Right. Sorry" She mumbled

"Ok, I'll pick you up at seven alright?" He said after a moment of silence

"Ok, see you later" She said before closing her phone with a clap

She threw herself backwards on her bed as her hands came up to hide her face

"I'm such an idiot" She muttered

"Well, I knew I was brighter than you, but I wouldn't go as far as calling you an idiot" Taylor's milky voice rang through Haley's room

"Ha. Ha" Haley mock-laughed

The older sister smirked as she plopped on the bed

"Who's the crazy guy who wants to take you out on a date?"

Haley got up and walked inside her walk-in closet rummaging through all the clothes

"It's not a date, and it's Nathan" She answered while looking at a pair of seven jeans

Taylor got up and followed Haley looking through the clothes as well

"Whatever you say" She sing-sang

"Wow that looks cute! Good job Hay, your clothing skills improved" Taylor said putting the shirt in front of her as she looked at her reflexion in the mirror

"It's Brooke's" Haley deadpanned

"Ok, I'll go elsewhere while you get ready for your _not_ date, good night" She said and sprinted out of the room with Brooke's shirt in hand

Haley looked at her and shook her head

Nathan walked out of his black range rover and over to Haley's front door

"Well look who it is" Taylor said with a mischievous smile

"Taylor" Nathan retorted and looked passed her for a sign of Haley

"May I help you Nathan?" She asked and bit back the smile when she saw Nathan's confused face

"Umm, is Haley ready, we're suppose to go out"

Taylor turned her face inside the house and called out "Haley, your boyfriend is here!"

Nathan's eyes went huge at the identification as were Haley's who was still in her bedroom. She hurried down the stairs and glared at Taylor before smiling brightly in Nathan's direction

"Let's go" She said and ushered them outside

When they were safely seated in the car Nathan spoke "So, for how long is she staying?" Considering he was Haley's best friend since they were kids, he knew most of her family very well Taylor being no exception

"Who knows, she has a boyfriend, who seems pretty decent, believe it or not-"

"Not" Nathan said rolling his eyes at the idea

"Yeah… so we'll probably see her around more often" Taylor's boyfriend seemed to be a family guy; he was the one to convince Taylor to come spend a few days with her family.

"Hang in there" He answered knowing that their relationship was very… volatile and Haley had a hard time to deal with her sister

"I'm trying" She said with a smile indicating that she wanted to change subject

The rest of the ride to the movie theater was made in comfortable silence. As Nathan arrived in the parking lot, it started to rain so they parked the car and waited for the storm to calm down

"Ok, I wanted to do this later but whatever" He said and dug his hand in his jean pocket and pulled out a sapphire velvet box

"Here" He said and handed the small box to Haley who was confused

"Open it" He insisted with a smile, she had always been shy when someone gave her a present

She slowly opened the box and gasped at the sight before her

"Nathan…god" She whispered with shock

It was a white gold bracelet with a little heart charm hanging from it. It was simple and delicate, at the same time stunning and elegant

"Do you like it?" He asked almost shyly

She looked at him and smiled "It's beautiful" She said not tearing her eyes from his

"Let me put it on you" He said with a soft voice

She handed him the jewelry and extended her arm. He put the small bracelet around her tiny wrist and tied it before caressing her skin with his calloused fingers

"Oh look, it stopped raining" she said and pulled back her hand from his dangerous touch

He looked outside and nodded. They both climbed out of the car, the fresh air of the after-rain weather hitting their hot skin.

They made their way inside the cinema, as they were waiting in line, Haley shivered involuntary

"Are you cold?" Nathan asked noticing her shiver

"Yeah, I have my sweater in the car I'll go get it"

"No, stay here I'll go" He said with a smile

She nodded and watched as he walked outside to his car. She turned back to look at the screen indicating the movies and the times, while waiting in line. That's what she hated about the movies; you always had to wait forever to get your tickets. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around

"So I was thinking, since you like-" Her words died on her lips as the sight in front of her

"Jason?" Haley said bewildered

"Haley James" The boy said with a smirk

"What the hell are you doing here?" She asked still not believing that he was actually here in Tree Hill

"There are some pieces I had to deliver to Brooke from the fashion show" He explained vaguely

Haley saw Nathan coming back with her sweater

"Hey Nathan, this is Jason" She said with a bright smile

Nathan looked surprised but he smiled "Uh hi, I'm Nathan" he said standing out his hand

Jason smiled "Jason, nice to meet you" He said

"I met Jason in New York, he worked for Brooke's fashion show" Haley explained when she saw the question marks in Nathan's eyes

"Oh, right" Nathan replied

"Well, are you staying for long?" Haley asked after an uncomfortable silence

"No, I'm leaving in two days, so hopefully you'll have time to hang out with me" He said smiling

"Definitely" She said returning his smile

"Anyway, we better get going…" Haley said as she saw Nathan growing uncomfortable

He nodded and enveloped her in a tight hug "It's good to see you Haley, I've missed you" He said quietly

She smiled "Ok, well tell Brooke to give you my number and call me"

"Sure thing" He said with a wink before leaving the pair as he left the theater.

"Isn't he going to watch a movie?" Nathan asked confused

"Oh he just came out, the movie probably just finished" She explained and he only nodded

When they finally got to the cash, Nathan insisted on paying for her ticket and they were now comfortably sitting in the theater with a huge popcorn for them to share

The movie was good so they didn't talk, as the credits rolled the lights came on and everyone was coming down the stairs

"Nathan what's wrong?" Haley asked after asking him if he liked the movie and barely getting a response

"Nothing, are you ready?" He asked not even looking at her

She sat back down in her chair "Come on Nathan don't do this" She said

"Do what Haley?" He asked his temper growing

"Tell me what's wrong" She demanded sternly

"I told you nothing's wrong" He said with a sigh

Just then a light flashed in her mind "Is this about Jason?"

"What?"

"Are you mad because of Jason?" She clarified

"Should I be?" He asked is eyes defiant

Hey brown eyes fired up at that comment "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Whatever, let's just go" He said as he started to go

"No, we are not finished with this conversation" Haley said her voice ringing in the now empty theater room

She followed him walking quickly behind him, until they were in the car

"So that's the problem, you're jealous" She said her eyes an angry shade of brown

"Jealous?! Me jealous… I don't think so" He said with a roll of his eyes

"They why did you act like that after he came to talk with me?" She asked defiantly

"You know what Haley, why you don't just go to Jason, your boyfriend or whoever he is; I think he was missing you…" He said the last part with sarcasm

"At least he's not an ass" She spat out

"So that's what you did in New York… sleep around" He said with a laugh

"How dare you say something like this to me" She spit out furiously

"You know, I felt like a complete jerk when I broke up with you, I thought I had broken your heart… And you went and got yourself a boyfriend or a hook-up or whatever you have with this guy"

"Fuck you Nathan; you have nothing to say to me about that, because you probably fucked more girls than half the people I met in New York" She was now screaming at him, her eyes glistening with tears

He didn't talk

"I'm sorry, we weren't together anymore" He said instantly feeling bad when he saw tears pouring down her cheeks

"Why do you keep doing this" She asked through tears

"Haley, look… I freaked out ok, when I saw that guy, the way he looked at you, all these things came into my mind and… I'm not good with love and relationship, you know that, but I don't… Haley I didn't say it to hurt you even though I know it did" He said the last part shamelessly

At this point she was just too tired to argue with him so she just nodded. Why did she have to love the most complicated guy out there?

"You know I love you Haley, and even though I don't show it very much I really do… and well it just scared me the first time I realized that I didn't just love you, but I was in love with you, so I ran away from it…"

She continued to cry at his words

"And it was the worst mistake of my life, because ever since you left, I've regret my decision and you being far like that, it make me realize that I can't live without you, you're a part of me Haley, you're a part of my soul, my mind… everything" He said nervously. She knew he wasn't good with admitting his feelings so she listened and continued to cry

"I know you think I'm a complete ass, but I had to say this" He said his voice barely above a whisper

"I love you" She said as fresh tears streamed down her already soaked cheeks

He looked at her waiting for something to tell him that he was just hearing things… but the way she looked at him, indescribable, with pure, raw love.

"Kiss me?" She whispered her eyes vulnerable

He nodded and moved his lips, laying them on top of her wet plump ones, moaning as his tongue liked off the salty taste of her tears.

Pulling back from the kiss, his hands cupped her face delicately, rubbing his thumb over her damp cheeks, his blue eyes fixated on her brown ones

"I love you" He whispered softly against her lips, his thumbs still massaging her face, his eyes pleading with hers to believe the words he was saying.

She nodded closing her eyes… the feelings too much to bear

"Open your eyes… Haley please" He pleaded with her

She opened them "Haley I need you to believe me…" He said softly his hands now traveling from her face to the waves of her soft hair

"I believe you… I love you" She said as tears shed onto her cheeks once again, this time Nathan wiping them away

Nathan smiled and touched his lips gently to hers, in a searing, longing kiss. Tracing her lips with his tongue, pressing on them demanding the entrance to her wondrous mouth. She complied with his request and parted her lips enough for him to slip his tongue inside and explore each parts of her orifice. She moaned softly when she felt his hand press against the mound of her breast, kneading it, brushing his thumb against her cloth covered nipple. Before getting carried away by the feelings, he pulled back, he wanted to make things right, now that he had a second chance, he didn't want to rush things.

As he looked into her eyes, he saw her brows knit and her eyes questioning.

"We're together now… right?" he asked with a small smile

She only nodded

"Ok, we shouldn't rush things too much, you know take it one step at a time" He said as he took her hand, squeezing it reassuringly

Her previous tense and sad features softened and a small smile grace her lips "Yes, you're right" She nodded "Thank you"

He smiled back and kissed the top of the hand he was still holding within his much larger one

"Are you ready to go back home?" He asked while starting the engine

"Oh yes, I can't wait to see Taylor!" She said mock-excitedly

He chuckled "You can sleep over if you want" He offered knowing too well she would say no

"As much as I want to, I think I should go home" She said as a yawn escaped her lips

"Ok then Miss James, let's get you home" He said with a playful voice

As Nathan stopped the car in front of Haley's house, he turned his face to look at her

"Did you have fun?" He asked looking at her, taking in her appearance, her soft curls framing her face perfectly as the street light shone on her

"Yes, thank you" She said as a blush slowly appeared on her cheeks at the intense look he was giving her

He smiled noticing the color on her facer "Good" he leaned in closer to her and she moved forward to touch his lips for a small gentle kiss.

"Good night" He whispered against her lips

"Good night" She replied with the same whisper

He pecked her lips once more before she climbed out the car and bounced in the house

He watched her until she was securely inside the house and started the engine, with a happy smile gracing his handsome face

Haley made her way quietly up to her room careful not to wake up her parents and sister

As she was opening the door to her room a voice startled her

"So, how was you're hot date? Oops I meant not date" She said with a smirk

Haley rolled her eyes, but she couldn't contain the girly giggle that escaped her mouth as she covered her face with her hands trying to hide her huge grin

"Wow it must have been good! How many times did you do it?" Taylor asked as she followed Haley inside her room closing the door behind her

"We didn't do it" Haley said as she took her pajamas out

"But you kissed?" Taylor said hoping that they at least did that

Haley nodded with a huge smile "A lot"

Taylor smiled happily and sat down on Haley's bed while she changed into her pajamas "So… how did this not date, became a hot date?"

"Well, first we had a fight…" She said as she tied her hair up in a bun

"About what?" Taylor asked eagerly

"About that guy that I saw there… Nathan wasn't happy to see him" Haley said and grimaced at the memory of the fight

"So he's jealous" Taylor said as she played with Mr. Waffles

"No, I mean he was never jealous, I've seen the way he acted with his girlfriends and he was definitely not jealous" Haley said as she sat down next to her sister

"That's because he didn't love them" Taylor said with a genuine smile

"Yeah…" Haley said as she drifted away in her many thoughts

"I'm happy for ya Hales… mom and dad are too" Taylor said as she patted Haley's shoulder

Haley looked at her questioningly "How do they know?"

Taylor rolled her eyes "You're so clueless… everybody knew you'd end up together one day. Everybody except you" She said as she got up and threw Mr. Waffles on the bed

"Hey! Be gentle with him" Haley said with a fake pout as she patted the fluffy teddy bear

"Well he better start getting used to being neglected now that you have a boyfriend" she sing-songed teasingly

"Whatever! Good night" Haley said with a smile and a shake of her head

"Night" Taylor said as she disappeared outside Haley's room

Haley turned off the light and sighed contently as her head made contact with her snug pillow, dozing off into dreamland, dreaming of what was next to come.

**Here ya go… I hope it made up for the long wait!!! Anyway I'm planning on having 15 chapters to this story, so if everything goes as plan there are 5 more chapters left… In the meantime, I'd really like some ideas for new stories… just to inspire me!!! Until next time… (Hopefully very soon) Hope you all enjoy your last days of summer, I know I will!!!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi guys, I started school today… which totally sucks, but that's life. Anyway I wanted to distract myself from it so I finished this new chapter which is very very long… so I'm going to cut the speech short. Hope you all enjoy**

**Chapter 11 **

"We have to celebrate" Brooke said with delight her eyes sparkling with anticipation

"Celebrate what?" Haley asked totally confused

She and Brooke had been shopping all day and were now in Brooke's car on their way to her house

"Well duh, we have to celebrate the fact that you survived your first week as Nathan Scott's girlfriend" Brooke said as if it was the stupidest question ever asked

Haley's face grew worried at what her friend had in mind "What do you mean exactly?"

"I mean, we should all go to Marcus's party tonight!" Brooke said very excitedly

"Umm, yeah with the way the last party went, I think I'm going to pass" Haley said referring to a party they had been the week before with Jason, their friend from New York, where she had had a little too much to drink and woke up the morning after with the biggest headache of her life

Brooke laughed at the memory "Yeah… you can't handle your liquor very well"

"Hey! I was just very excited about me and Nathan" Haley said poking Brooke's arm playfully

"Whatever… so what do you say?" Brooke asked hopeful

"I don't know Brooke, Marcus isn't Nathan's favorite person so…" Haley said hesitantly

"Oh come on, I'm sure he can shove his possessive side for one night" Brooke said rolling her eyes at the thought of Nathan

"What the hell! Ok we'll go" Haley said as they pulled up in Haley's drive way

Brooke clapped her hands happily "Yay, do you want me to come and pick you up?"

"No it's ok, I'll have Nathan come" She said as she got out of the cream colored bug

"Ok, see you later" Brooke said before driving off

------------------

Looking through her closet, she couldn't decide what to wear… so she went with a pair of dark jeans, a rich green halter top, and her black Christian Louboutin peep-toe pumps displaying her splendid coral colored toenails. Her honey blonde curls cascading down her shoulders.

"Hey" Nathan said as he entered her room

She smiled as she saw his reflexion in her vanity mirror.

"Hi, I'm almost ready" She said before applying some of her Chanel melon gloss

"Ok" He said as he plopped down on her bed throwing her teddy bear up and down like a basket-ball while waiting for her

She got up and took one last look at her frame, before turning around to face her boyfriend

"Ok, let's go" She said as she took her purse and unplugged her curl iron

He got up and walked up besides her taking in her appearance "You look beautiful" He said and smiled when he saw her usual blush creep on her cheeks

"Thank you" She said with a shy smile

He took a step forward and kissed her deeply, moaning at the feel she was eliciting in him, he wrapped his arms around her as she lay her hands on his broad chest, and as he was about to take things further, she pulled back and he groaned disapprovingly

"If we don't stop now, we'll never get to the party and Brooke will kill me" She said taking his hand in hers and leading them out

"We should stay here, your parents are not even home" Nathan whined

"Oh come on it'll be fun" Haley cheered as she locked the door behind her

-------------------------

"Haleeeees" Brooke squealed as she saw Haley and Nathan coming towards her

"Hey Brookie" Haley said untangling her hand from Nathan's and giving her friend a hug, smelling the alcohol in her breath

"Are you drunk already Brooke?" Haley asked with amusement

"Tipsy" Brooke said with a goofy grin

"Ok…" Haley said shaking her head at her friend

"Come, let's get you a drink" She said latching to her hand, dragging her away from the crowd

"I'll be back" Haley said to Nathan and he nodded going back to talking with one of his basketball team mates

"Hey, man" Marcus said when he saw Nathan

Nathan smiled tightly "Marcus" they shook hands in a manly way

"So I've heard about you and Haley… good for you man" Marcus said and it seemed like he really meant it

"Thanks man" He said uncertain

"Hey" Haley said as she came up behind him

He smiled happy to have her at his side "Hey" he said with a smile

"Hey Haley" Marcus said casually

"Hey Marcus, thanks for inviting us" Haley said as an awkward silence took over before Marcus excused himself

Nathan sat down and Haley sat next to him with Brooke, Lucas, Peyton and Jake

--------------

_Later_

"Oohh guys lets play 'I never'" Brooke said smiling as she came back in their little group, a new drink in hand

"Brooke I think you've had enough to drink" Lucas said trying to take the blue cup from her

"Nooo…" She protested in a childlike way, stumbling and almost falling

"Whoa… here take my chair" Haley said getting up

Brooke sat down happily on the chair "So are we ever going to start the game?" She asked looking at Haley

Haley looked away; she didn't really like that game

Nathan pulled her hand and led her to sit on his lap, since she had given her chair to Brooke

"You look really hot" Nathan whispered huskily only for her to hear

"Are you drunk?" She asked amused by his big sparkling blue eyes looking back at her

"Not as much as Brooke" He said and laughed a little

Haley laughed as well and pecked his lips she had been looking at for a long time

"Do you want to come sleep over?" Haley asked as she watched him take a sip from his beer

He looked at her with a smirk "Aren't you scared that I'd take advantage of you?"

"Would you do such a thing?" She asked with a playful tone

"Hmm… well as I told you before, you look very hot, so I might not be able to control myself" He said as he rubbed her jean covered thighs with his hands

She giggled and he kissed her, nipping at her bottom lip, and then at her upper one making her moan in response

"Am I to heavy?" She asked after a moment of silence

"Where the hell did that come from" He asked amused by how serious she was being

"I don't know, I just…" She said feeling a little bit ridiculous

"Too heavy? Please, I could take twice your weight on my shoulders anytime" He said with a smirk and she smiled back pecking his lips

"Hey Nate, are you coming back home tonight?" Lucas asked from his spot

"No" He said not even looking at him, concentration on his girlfriend's smooth, hot creamy skin that his hand was rubbing on her tummy

"Ok, well we'll be taking off…" He said motioning Brooke who was falling asleep on his shoulder

Nathan then looked at her brother and his girlfriend and shook his head at Brooke "Ok, see you tomorrow"

"Bye Luke, take care of her" Haley said as she took a sip from Nathan's beer

"Hey, you're going to get drunk" He said teasingly taking the bottle away from her

She pouted "No, I'm not" and he chuckled kissing her pout away

"Hales, you can't handle your liquor" He said matter-of-factly

Brooke suddenly woke up at that and erupted in laughter

"Hey! Aren't you supposed to take her home?" Haley asked Lucas and glaring at Brooke

"Yeah… we're leaving now" Lucas said getting up and pulling Brooke up with him

"See, I told ya Hales" Brooke said giggling, referring to Nathan's comment

"Ok… let's go" Lucas said dragging her out

Nathan chuckled at Haley's expression

"You're supposed to be on my side" She scolded

"Well, it's the truth, but don't worry I still love you" He said his voice playful

"You better" She said her pout firmly back on her face

He finished his beer in one gulp "Ok, are you ready to go?"

"Uh-huh" Haley replied getting up from his comfy lap

Nathan took her hand in his leading her through the crowd of people and after saying goodbye to all their friends they left the house hand in hand.

---------------------------

The next morning, Haley woke up at the feel of sweet soft lips against her skin, a smile automatically formed on her face and she opened her eyes

"Mmmm… hi" She said with a sleepy voice

"Hi" He said his voice filled with sleep as well

He bent down touching his lips to hers, in a soft kiss.

"Did you sleep well?" She asked after he pulled back from their sweet kiss

"Very well" He said entwining their fingers together, looking at her, at how beautiful she was first thing in the morning

"What are you thinking about?" She asked taking him out of his thoughts

He hesitated before speaking "Well, while you were gone, this summer, I rented an apartment for when I start college… I didn't tell you because we weren't together then, but now that we are and that you're coming to Duke, I want you to move in with me" He said searching her eyes for a reaction

"Uh… well" She said obviously not knowing what to say

"I know this is a big step, and you want to make the right decision, but I've been thinking about it since we've been back together so it's not something I just say…" He added

"Well, are you sure, I mean what if-" She said hey face uncertain

"Haley, look I know I want to live with you, now the only thing you have to think about is do you want to live with me?" He said cutting through her worries

"Of course I do, I'm just scared" She asked fiddling with one of her soft curls

"I know you are, but everything's going to be fine Haley, I promise you… What I feel for you, I've never felt like that before, never" He swore his eyes serious

She shifted on the bed, trying to find a comfortable position on the bed to look at Nathan's face properly "Ok, but you have to realize that all the decisions will be made together" She said seriously

He nodded with a grin "Definitely"

She smiled and lifted her head up to meet his lips in a soft sizzling kiss

"Now I have to tell my parents" She said with a frown

"It'll be alright, they love me anyway" He said with his signature smirk

Haley rolled her eyes at his cockiness "Oh what did I just get myself into"

He chuckled "I love you"

"Me too" She said with a smile, she still had to get used to him saying those words to her. But it felt good, it felt damn good

He bent down to kiss her, tracing her full lips with his tongue, silently demanding access to her mouth which she granted immediately sighing as his slick tongue gently massaged hers

He slid his hand under his t-shirt she was wearing and caressed her tummy, gently in a circular motion, then moving upwards to capture one soft sweet breast in his hand kneading it lovingly

Breaking the kiss breathlessly, Haley shrugged off Nathan's hand from her shirt and smiled a the pout gracing his features

"Time to get up, we have something to announce to my family" She said and pecked his lips before jumping out of bed

"We?" He asked with a frown following her into her en suite bathroom

"Oh yes mister, its your fault I have to have this talk with my parents, so its only fair that you'd be there to support me" She said with a sweet smile

He groaned, but knew better to protest, so instead he took his toothbrush and started to brush his teeth… he had to look flawless for her parents to agree to let her move in with him

------------------------

"Hey Nathan" Dan Scott's shrill voice echoed through the noiseless mansion

Nathan groaned internally "What?"

"Can you come down in my office" He commanded his son

Nathan came down the few steps he had climbed up with a sigh and entered his father's hall of fame, plopped down on a plush leather chair and waited for his father to yell at him

"Where were you last night?" He asked putting down his glasses

Nathan rolled his eyes "What does it matter?"

Dan's already cold eyes, went colder if that is possible "Don't give me the bullshit you give to your mom Nathan" He snipped

"Whatever, I was with Haley" He said passing a tired hand through his messy hair

"You could've called" Dan retorted

"Ok, dad, what is it that you want?" Nathan asked obviously Dan would never ask him to come down to his office to know where he had spent the night

"Coach K, called today" Dan started

Nathan perked up at the mention of his future coach

"He said that you start the training camp next week" He continued

"What? Isn't next week a little soon?" Nathan asked surprised at the news

"Nathan, why are you asking questions you should be packing right now" Dan said announcing the end of the conversation

Nathan got up not even glancing at his dad before leaving the office

-----------------------

"Hey" Nathan said with a smile as he flipped his cell phone open

"Hey you" Haley said smiling as well

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing… Umm my parents are back, so do you want to come by after dinner to tell them?" She asked her voice a little nervous

"Sure, what time do you want me to come?"

"Uh, eight-ish?"

"Sounds good, I'll be there, try not to upset them too much" He said playfully

"You are so funny" She said sarcastically trying not to smile

"I know" He said and she could picture his face and that smirk all over it

"I miss you already" She said with an audible pout

"I miss you too, and I'll miss you next week"

"What's next week?" She asked curious

He cursed silently; he wanted to tell her that he would be leaving two weeks before her, but not on the phone like this

"Uh, well I'm leaving in two days" He said in one breath

"What? How come?" She asked confusion seeping through her voice

"Coach K called to let me know that training camp started next week, so…" He said uncertain of her reaction

"Oh" She said obviously upset

"But hey, I'll have the chance to check out the apartment and fix it up a bit before you come" He said trying to convince her

"Yeah…"

"Haley, don't be mad, please" He pleaded tiredly

"I'm not mad Nathan, but I have to go, I'll see you tonight ok?" She asked trying to sound cheerful

"Ok, I love you" He said softly

---------------------

"Where's Taylor at?" Haley asked while filling the dishwasher with her mother

"She's out to dinner with Kyle" Lydia said smiling at her youngest daughter

"Dinner?" Haley asked not buying it

"Yeah, who knew right?" Her mom said with a chuckle

Taylor James was definitely not the "dinner" type. But apparently love can make you do anything.

"So do you want to give me a hint on what you and Nate want to talk about?" Lydia asked with a glint in her eyes

The doorbell rang at that moment and Haley quickly went to open the door

"Hey" Nathan said as she opened the door

She smiled and kissed him briefly "Hi"

She took his hand and led him in the kitchen where her mom had just started the dishwasher

"Nathan!" Lydia exclaimed happily

"Hi Mrs. James" Nathan said and hugged the smaller woman briefly

"Come sit, sit" She motioned the stools

They did as told and each took a seat on the kitchen stools waiting

"Hey Nate" Jimmy James said coming on the other side of the isle next to his wife

"Hi Mr. James" Nathan said with a smile

"So what do you kids want to talk about?" Lydia asked impatiently

Haley looked over at Nathan, before speaking "Nathan and I want to move in together" She said and closed her eyes afraid of her parents reactions

"What?" Both of them said at the same time, making her open her eyes

"We want to live together, like in an apartment" She clarified

"Oh" Lydia said

"Ok" Jimmy said after a few silent moments

"What?" Lydia and Haley said at the same time

"Well, she was going to be living in a dorm with someone she barely even knows" Jimmy said shrugging his shoulders

Lydia hesitated and said "You better don't call me up one day to tell me you're knocked up" She said pointing a finger over at Haley

"And you, better take good care of her" Jimmy said to Nathan

"I will, thank you" Nathan said with a grateful smile

"Thanks" Haley said and went over to hug her mom and dad

"I love you Haley-Bop, I know that you've always followed your heart, you've always been responsible" Lydia said holding her daughter's face between her warm hands

"I love you too mom" Haley said and kissed cheek

"Don't I get an "I love you" too?" Jimmy asked playfully

Haley laughed "I love you daddy" She said and gave him a big smooch on the cheek

"Ok, not that we don't like your company, but we have our tennis lessons to go to" Lydia said as she and her husband walked towards the front door

"See you later" Jimmy said and they were out the door

"Bye" Haley and Nathan said from their spots still in the kitchen

"See, I told you they wouldn't mind, they love me" He said playfully and she slapped him on the arm

"I'm still mad at you" She said crossing her arms and turning her face away from him

Nathan turned her stool so that she was facing him and placed his hands on each of her thighs

"Haley, I'm sorry, I didn't know, up until this morning when I got home. I would've told you if I did" He said his forehead crinkling

"I know, I just don't want you to leave yet" She said now looking at him

He smiled momentarily "Me either, but you'll be coming in two weeks, and we'll be together 24/7" He said trying to make her smile

"Don't remind me" She said playfully

He smiled and touched his lips to hers, both of them sighing at the softness of their lips

"I can't wait to move in with you" He said his voice husky

"Me too" She said her breath itching at the tone of his voice

She pecked his lips once more and pulled back

"Come to think of it, its better that I stay here for a couple of weeks, so that I can buy things for the apartment" She said the excitement evident in her voice

"I'll ask Brooke to come shopping with me, so much fun" She squealed

Nathan laughed at her sudden change of mood "Ok, but don't listen to Brooke too much"

"I won't" she promised

"Ok, now for how long are your parents gone?" Nathan asked his eyes twinkling with mischief

"At least two hours, wanna go upstairs?" She said with the same mischief

He nodded eagerly and took her in his arms swiftly slapping her butt and laughing at her squirming and her little screams as he walked them to her room, laughter and love filling the quiet house.

**Feedback, as always, is welcome! ****xoxo **


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